May 4 (Island) Legal experts, working for the govt and the Opposition, peruse the Constitution with the same intention as sinners who read the Bible or any other sacred text; instead of seeking guidance, they look for loopholes. On hearing these legal luminaries interpret constitutional provisions, one asks oneself, like Alice, confused by Humpty Dumpty’s strange diction, whether they can make words mean so many different things. Sadly, voice of independent experts has got lost in the political din. more..

May 4 (SO) There should have been a provision in the Constitution that an essentially defeated parliament should never be reconvened, irrespective of the circumstances. It could be argued that there is no such thing as a defeated parliament —except there is. A parliament whose majority belongs to the political entity that was defeated at the last elections that were held, is a defeated parliament. It’s a spent force, but more importantly, it’s a parliament that has been subject to censure by the people. more..

May 4 (Island) Where knowledge is sparse, experts proliferate is, perhaps, the most important lesson I have learned during this troubled time we all are going through. At times, I wished Sir Tim Berners-Lee patented his invention - the World Wide Web - rather than gifting it to humanity. That would have prevented so many of my friends, and relatives, from forwarding many frivolous items, by e-mail and WhatsApp, as I am a Facebook shunner. Had they been obliged to pay, even the tiniest amount, more..

May 4 (TM) There have been many discussions and communiques over how the country should return to normalcy amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, and the student population in the country is now feeling pressurised with the indecisiveness on school and university reopening dates. Schools were originally scheduled to reopen on 20 April, which was then postponed to 4 May, and was again reconsidered as the number of cases more..

May 4 (ST) The Ministry of Sports is on the verge of introducing three national committees, targeting the future development of Sri Lanka sports. The three earmarked entities are the National Coaches’ Committee, National Technical Officials’ Committee and National Referees’ Committee. This initiative comes as a result of requests made by different fraternities of the local sports arena, as the Ministry of Sports took a step further in responding positively. The ministry intends to include more..

May 4 (ST) President of SL Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR), Tony Amit is determined to clean up the stables by uniting the membership riddled with factionalism with the aim of improving the standard of refereeing in the country. “When I spoke at the AGM after I took over, I said forget the past. Now let us all get together and rally round. This is what I am trying to do now. Get all of them back again. Then after that everything will be okay,” said the veteran rugby administrator more..

May 4 (TM) Chamber of Construction Industry SL (CCISL) warned that about half a million construction sector jobs would be at risk unless the Govt promptly addresses issues that are pushing construction companies towards bankruptcy. CCISL President Ranjith Gunatilleke noted that a financial crisis in the sector is imminent, mainly due to the ongoing pandemic, and that it would result in about 500,000 construction more..

May 4 (Island) Hokkaido is the northern island of Japan, and, at 32,000 square miles, larger than Sri Lanka, but with a population of only 5.3 million. The island is well known as a tourist destination, all four seasons being breathtakingly beautiful, with sprawling farms, rolling hills, salmon streams, crystal clear lakes, and vast areas of forest. The surrounding seas are rich with fish and crustaceans. On the other hand, the winters can be brutal. I live in Sapporo, Hokkaido’s sprawling capital more..

May 4 (DM) The dreaded coronavirus or COVID-19, which made itself part of the international lexicon in December 2019, had by May 1, 2020, infected over 3,214,256 persons and taken the lives of 232,570 persons world wide. In our own country, over 700 persons had contracted or caught the disease with seven identified deaths. It is feared that, if the number of infected go beyond 1,000, the system may not be able to cope, given the limited numbers of trained personnel available. more..

May 4 (DM) As Sri Lanka fights the Coronavirus a different sort of battle is beginning to build. A battle between the Government and the opposition reconvening parliament to pass new laws to address the current crisis in the country. Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa has already indicated he will not reconvene the old parliament and instead PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for a meeting with former MPs today (Monday) more..

May 4 (Island) Mullaitivu Police and PHIs, in the early hours of yesterday, cremated the bodies of two men, in their 80s, who had died while undergoing quarantine at the Mullaitivu Air Force Base. Acting Air Force spokesman, said that they had handed the bodies of the two men, 83-year-old Thangawelu and 81-year-old G.G. Martin, to the Mullaitivu Police and the PHIs serving in the area. Police & PHIs were to dispose the bodies, at the Kumarapuram cemetery, but it didn't have a crematorium. more..

May 4 (CT) Rainco (Pvt) Ltd announced that it joined the battle against the continuously rising pandemic by donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19. The equipment, valued to be worth Rs 2.4 million, was handed over to the Commander of the SL Army, Lt Gen Shavendra Silva, recently. Rainco (Pvt.) Ltd.'s COO, Ahamed Aroos, MD, Fazal Fausz and Group Head of Tenders and Regulatory Affairs, Prasanna Chandrasiri represented more..

May 4 (Island) PM Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday declared that in terms of Article 150(3) of the Constitution, Prez Rajapaksa was constitutionally empowerd to allocate funds for any purpose, for which funds had not been allocated by Parliament. PM pointed out if Parliament had already allocated funds for a given purpose, there was no requirement for the President to intervene in the matter. more..

May 4 (Island) Schools are unlikely to reopen, on May 11, as the coronavirus situation was not completely under control, PM Mahinda Rajapaksa has said. PM said so while responding to some children in a question and answer session organised by UNICEF, on Saturday. PM Rajapaksa joined a special discussion regarding solutions that could be provided to various problems faced by children due to the spread of the coronavirus. The discussion was held via Facebook. more..

May 4 (AD) The majority of the COVID-19 infections reported from yesterday are Navy personnel. Accordingly, 11 out of 13 cases are reported from the Welisara Navy Base. The remaining two patients are individuals who kept close contacts with the infected Navy personnel, he said. Thirteen new coronavirus cases were identified yesterday, hiking the total number of cases in the country to 718. In the meantime, with twelve coronavirus patients being discharged from hospital more..

May 4 (FT) Former TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran has written to the Human Rights Commission of SL calling on the HRC to advise the Govt on the need to rectify and regularise imposition of curfew. “I am of the opinion that restricting movement is desirable and necessary at this time in our country in order to meet the challenge presented by COVID-19. There is no gain saying that such restrictions including curfew must be imposed legally more..

May 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan batting great Mahela Jayawardene says there is nothing harmful in having players with big egos in a team as long as he is able to get the best out of them within an ideal environment. Jayawardene has achieved considerable success in leadership roles in recent years, first as a captain and then coach, and said he has always backed his players to the hilt. Helming the affairs in a team-game like cricket, Jayawardene was asked how does he deal with big egos. more..

May 4 (PMD) Prez Rajapaksa engaged in religious observances held at the historic Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi premises in Anuradhapura yesterday (2) to obtain the blessings of this sacred Bodhi upon the country and its citizens. President who visited the Anuradhapura sacred city met with the Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Dr. Pallegama Siriniwasa Nayaka Thero and received his blessings. President also participated in the Kiri Ahara Pujawa for Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi more..

May 4 (FT) SL’s oil palm cultivators can provide tangible support to the Govt’s efforts to promote local agriculture and import substitution as a response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy, the sector’s apex industry association has said. In a statement, Palm Oil Industry Association (POIA) which represents cultivators as well as refiners, processors, manufacturers, marketers, sellers of palm oil more..

May 4 (AD) The govt has announced that leaving houses for essential purposes based on the last digit of the NIC number is applicable to areas where curfew is in force. The President’s Media Division (PMD) said this on Sunday, issuing a clarification on the matter. Accordingly, the NIC last digit regulation will not be applicable for leaving houses when the curfew is relaxed. However, entering or leaving areas that have been declared as isolated zones has been banned completely. more..

May 4 (AD) An individual linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror bombings has been arrested in Kalpitiya by the Police. The suspect has been identified to be a trustee of an organization where Zahran Hashim, alleged ringleader behind the attacks, had conducted lectures. Reportedly, the two sons of Mohamed Ibrahim had also conducted lectures at the organization. The organization has been carried out in Asar Nagar in Madurankuliya. CID will be taking action to raid organization, more..

May 4 (DM) The govt has arranged quarantine for returning Sri Lankans from abroad to spend their mandatory quarantine spell at a hotel at a cost and as they pleased, acting Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army Shavendra Silva said. Certain Sri Lankans who could afford the cost of quarantine have expressed their willingness to spend their mandatory quarantine spell in privacy and more comfort. more..

May 4 (AP) Prison guards in SL foiled an attempt by inmates to escape on Sunday after they used ropes and bed sheets to scale down the wall, leaving at least one dead, police said. Seven prisoners tried to flee the penitentiary in Mahara, police spokesman's office said. They were confronted by guards after scaling down the prison walls, leading to a scuffle during which the guards fired in the air, police said. One inmate and two guards were injured and the inmate later died in a hospital, more..

May 4 (ST) The Election Commission has sought an opinion from the Attorney General on the implications of the Govt declaring special public holidays during the Parliamentary elections nomination period which ended on March 19. Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya told a meeting of political party representatives yesterday that the EC was awaiting a response from the AG’s Department. This was after a political party representative raised issue about the declaration of holidays and more..

May 4 (Island) SL College of Microbiologists frowned on using decontamination chambers and spraying disinfectants on people to minimise spread of coronavirus The professional body, advancing the Medical Microbiology, in SL, says spraying the people with chemical disinfectants, such as alcohol, chlorine compounds, ozonated water, and soapy water and Ultra Violet (UV) radiation is physically & psychologically more..

May 4 (AD) A special SriLankan Airlines flight carrying Sri Lankan students from the UK has arrived at the BIA early this morning. SriLankan Airlines charter flight UL 504 with 208 SL student stranded in London landed in BIA t 3.30 am today. The returning students have been subjected to a sterilization process upon arrival and then directed to quarantine facilities by SL Army. Meanwhile, another flight to bring back another batch of students in the UK left BIA at 4 am this morning. more..

May 4 (DM) Akuressa PS Chairman and four others who went on pilgrimage to Sri Pada without a curfew pass were arrested in Maskeliya today. They were travelling by a lorry belonging to the Pradeshiya Sabha when the police arrested them. Police said the health authorities had prohibited pilgrimage to sacred cities in view of the threat of Corona virus while Nallathanniya police had taken step to prevent tourists and pilgrims from trips to Sri Pada until the situation was back to normal. more..

May 4 (AD) The UNP has decided to boycott the former MP’s meeting called by the PM. PM recently called all 225 MPs of the former parliament for a meeting at the Temple Trees on May 04. UNP said, although they do not accept this meeting as an alternative for reconvening the parliament officially, they had previously decided to attend the meeting to reiterate their stance that party politics should be discarded in the face of more..

May 4 (DM) My neighbour and former Lawyer’s clerk was making a huge noise with his political bête noire, a retired municipal employee next door. They both are ardent followers of the two major political divide, the devoted kepuwath … paatai dim-witted types. Nick-named Goda Perakadoruwa for his perverse or outlandish opinions to those who seek his advice on various legal matters on deeds, property, and boundary disputes, ignored the curfew and was engaged in an argument on Covid more..

May 4 (DM) COVID-19 emanated from China and was made known to the World on Dec 31, 2019. In 120 days, it has ratcheted past three million case numbers and 210,000 reported deaths globally. An additional, 56,000 are reported as serious. Over 92% of the 210,000 deaths are along the 30°N - 60°N latitudes/parallel belt of nations - China, Iran, Turkey, Russia, EU, UK, USA etc. Therefore, they must enlist/ensure robust action, with the uncertainty of the added strain of COVID-19. more..

May 4 (YN) Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with her SL counterpart Monday and discussed cooperation in coping with the coronavirus pandemic, her office said. In the talks with Dinesh Gunawardena, Kang explained that the COVID-19 situation in South Korea is stabilizing as a result of nationwide efforts to overcome the disease based on the principle of transparency in terms of its quarantine policy, the ministry said in a release. In response, Gunawardena praised more..

May 4 (EN) SL’s rupee strengthened to 188.25/188.75 to the greenback in one week forwards, helped by some bank and exporter selling, dealers said. There was no spot trading but there is hardly any premium for forwards in the market with low rupee rates and tight dollar liquidity pushing interbank rate up, the implied spot rate was also around the same levels, dealers said. The rupee closed around 190.50/191.00 in the one week forward market on Thursday. more..

May 4 (FT) Aseni, the wiz kid who has developed an interest in learning everything and anything that relates to economics, has downloaded the Central Bank’s Annual Report for 2019. She has found, to her horror, that she couldn’t make head or tail out of it, despite some previous training in economics she had undergone. She sought the help of her Grandfather, Sarath Mahattaya, an ex-officer of Min. of Finance, more..

May 4 (EN) Sri Lanka’s Brandix, an apparel group with operations in India and Bangladesh is turning its factories into making personal protective equipment (PPE) in the battle against Coronavirus as orders for regular clothes dry up, an official said. In Sri Lanka it factories are making cotton masks for an international brand. About 9,000 out of over 30,000 workers in its factories in Sri Lanka are already involved in making PPE and will be ramped up to around 16,000 shortly, more..

May 4 (DM) Most of the Sri Lankans who returned from London this morning had checked-in to three luxury hotels for quarantine at their own cost. Some of the returnees had been sent to a quarantine centre operated by the govt at the Diyagama Technological Institute. The govt has arranged quarantine for returning Sri Lankans from abroad to spend their mandatory quarantine spell at hotels at a cost and as they pleased. The cost is to be borne by the returnees. more..

May 4 (AD) SL has not received any foreign financial aid to face the COVID-19 outbreak, said PM Mahinda Rajapaksa. He mentioned this during the former parliamentarians’ meeting held at the Temple Trees this morning. At the meeting, former MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated that clarification must be made regarding the receipt and expenditure of foreign aid received by SL as various allegations are made by opposition on this. more..

May 4 (DM) South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT), one of three terminal operators in the port of Colombo, recently introduced a paperless electronic clearance process for import containers. The new process is in support of Minister Johnston Fernando’s initiative to mandate all stakeholders in the supply-chain to advance global best practices in SL. The initiative is in response to the need for innovating current work practices in view of social distancing directives issued by the SL govt. more..

May 4 (FT) The country’s confectionery industry including bakeries is up in arms over the recent increase in the import taxes on Palm Oil, a key ingredient for their products. Lanka Confectionery Manufacturers Association (LCMA) Chairman S.M.D. Suriyakumara said the taxes on Palm Oil was increased by Rs. 100 per kilo, and since there aren’t any local substitutes that can meet the demand for this product, the Confectionery industry will lose of Rs. 100 million per month. more..