Jun 25 (EN) Take-Home Rations Distribution Program implemented by the NGO Save the Children was officially launched at Dambeyaya Primary School, Okkampitiya, Buttala in the Monaragala District, led by Uva Province Governor A.J.M. Muzammil. This project was implemented in accordance with the MoU entered into between Save the Children organisation and the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health, for strengthening and improving more..

Jun 25 (SLN) Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne today (25) presided over the opening of High Dependency Unit (HDU) of Colombo South Teaching Hospital Kalubowila, renovated with Navy’s able manpower, as part of its initiatives to strengthen the Govt's programme to expand infrastructure required to treat individuals tested positive for COVID-19. In response to a request made by more..

Jun 25 (TM) The ongoing cleanup efforts of the Tissamaharama Wewa which is a Joint Venture between a SL and Chinese company has been halted, the Department of Archaeology confirmed. According to Prof. Anura Manatunga, Director General of the Dept of Archaeology, prior permission was not obtained from the Dept before the cleanup efforts began. “We have informed the relevant parties to halt ongoing work and seek permission from the Archaeology Dept to proceed,” more..

Jun 25 (CT) The State Poson Festival was inaugurated by Prez Rajapaksa yesterday at the historic Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya. The Poson Anusasana was delivered by the Chief Incumbent of the Mihintale Rajamaha Viharaya, Most Ven. Dr. Walawahengunawewe Dhammarathana Thera. The religious event was held according to health guidelines while PM Rajapaksa addressed the event online. The Anunayaka of the Malwatte Chapter Most Ven. Dimbulkumbure Wimaladhamma more..

Jun 25 (FT) Fitch Ratings yesterday warned that the end of the suspension on SL banks' investments in International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) had the potential to increase banks' exposure to sovereign and foreign-currency funding and liquidity risks. Banks' credit profiles are already significantly exposed to the sovereign, with Fitch-rated SL banks having about a third of their combined assets exposed to the Central Govt at end-2020. more..

Jun 25 (Island) State Minister Kanaka Herath said that a programme was underway to vaccinate all employees in the apparel industry in the Kegalle district. He said that more than 9,000 garment employees in the Kegalle district had already been given the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines so far and others would be inoculated soon. “Steps will be taken to administer the second dose in a timely manner with the intervention of govt officials, the security forces and the political authorities more..

Jun 25 (DM) A Survey Ship of Indian Navy INS Sarvekshak arrived in the Colombo Port yesterday to assist in the Survey efforts being undertaken in the vicinity of the ill fated MV X-Press Pearl and off Colombo. The ship, equipped with the state of the art survey equipment including the Side Scan Sonar, would assist in the Survey efforts. "INS Sarvekshak was deployed upon a formal request from the Govt of Sri Lanka to ensure safety of navigation in area outside the Colombo harbour. more..

Jun 25 (AD) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says he expects Prez Rajapaksa, in his address to the nation tonight, will provide answers to six pressing issues faced by people in the country. He made the following remarks delivering a special statement earlier today. Speaking on the recent increase in fuel prices, Opposition Leader said he expects the govt to reverse the move. more..

Jun 25 (EN) Liberian registered MSC Messina, 63,000 dead weight tonne vessel has suffered an engine room fire 480 nautical miles off SL and nearby vessels have been alerted to help, an official said. The vessel had left Colombo Port and was on her way to Singapore when it caught fire, but the crew had put the fire out. “We have sent a warning for all the ships in our navigational area about the situation, and some ships near the damaged ship to provide support for the ship” more..

Jun 25 (DM) Immigration and Emigration Dept has decided to issue a limited number of passports in the one day and normal service while adhering to health guidelines, Dept Controller General U.V. Sarath Rupasiri said. He said that the dept had decided to serve a limited number of clients at the main office in Battaramulla and the branch offices in Matara, Vavuniya, Kandy, and Kurunegala. "Only clients who are in urgent need of essential service requirements should visit the nearest branch office more..

Jun 25 (FT) Days after former CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekara was enlarged on bail by the Court of Appeal, questions remain about his continued security, and the fate of the criminal investigations he conducted and supervised. One of the most consistent and vociferous voices in defence of the top sleuth has been activist Ahimsa Wickrematunge. In this interview, Ahimsa outlines her expectations for emblematic criminal more..

Jun 25 (SLN) Having named after the newly constructed Navy sporting facility as Commander Parakrama Samaraweera Memorial Indoor Sports Complex, it was declared open under the patronage of Commander of the Navy and President Navy Sports Board, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne and with the attendance of beloved wife of late Commander Parakrama Samaraweera, Mrs. Sudarshani Samaraweera at Welisara Naval Complex today (23). more..

Jun 25 (AD) The Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of two ambassadors, three ministerial secretaries and a chairman of a state institution. The aforesaid appointments were approved during a meeting of the committee, chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on June 23, according to Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake. Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister Johnston Fernando, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, more..

Jun 25 (EN) Sri Lanka will use a 100 million US dollar credit from the Export Import Bank of India to supply state building and poor families with solar power, the Prez’s office and the Indian High Commission in Colombo said. “A key plan of the Govt is to generate solar power by obtaining the contribution of state-owned buildings, places of worship and houses of low-income families,” the President’s office said. more..

Jun 25 (FT) SJB MP Buddhika Pathirana, in Parliament on Wednesday once again castigated the Ministry of Finance for alleged mismanagement of State finances and inconveniencing the public. He added that the Govt and the Ministry of Finance had failed to prioritise essential requirements of the public, and instead giving prominence wasteful expenditure. Pathirana said whilst the public was awaiting solutions for identity cards, examinations and cost of living factors, more..

Jun 25 (EN) Travel between provinces will continue to be restricted till July 5 despite SL’s COVID-19 lockdown being relaxed, Health Services Director General Dr Asela Gunawardena said. New guidelines will also be issued to shops and stalls in the Western province, he said, where daily COVID-19 cases have been high. SL relaxed its curfew-style movement restrictions June 21 but temporarily reimposed them again from 10pm June 23 to 4am June 25 to cover Poson full moon Poya day, more..

Jun 25 (Island) Those who have missed Oxford AstraZeneca (Covishield) second jab so far are unlikely to get theirs before the originally stipulated period to ensure the best effect of the vaccine. Various govt spokespersons, including Prez Advisor Lalith Weeratunga are on record as having said that the second jab should be administered between 12 to 16 weeks to maximise protection against new variants of coronavirus. more..

Jun 25 (CT) SLFP will not support the SJB’s No-Confidence Motion against Minister Udaya Gammanpila, as the motion is a foolish action based on a hidden agenda, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. He said they oppose the motion, as the decision to raise fuel prices was not made by Gammanpila directly, but by the Sub Committee on the Cost of Living, which was then accepted by the Cabinet. He said the Govt is fully aware that many in society have lost their jobs and more..

Jun 25 (CT) SJB MP Rajitha Senaratne criticised the Govt for appointing unnecessary entities such as the current COVID-19 Task Force and involving Viyathmaga and other unnecessary officials to control the pandemic, without letting the experts at the Health Ministry handle the task. Senaratne added, “The COVID-19 death rate in SL is only second to India and Brazil. Pakistan and Bangladesh death rates have started to reduce weekly but we are getting even closer to more..

Jun 25 (TM) Joint Front to Protect Open University (JFPOU) today commended the reversal of the decision of the President to reject the legitimate shortlist for the Vice Chancellor position of the Open University of SL. “We see this as a victory not just for the Open University of SL but for the entire university system in the country. At a time when we are witnessing increasing political and executive interference at all levels in public institutions more..

Jun 25 (USE) On June 21, a first group of approximately 110,000 students from 887 primary schools received a delivery of vital food aid funded by the American people. Students in Badulla, Kilinochchi, Monaragala, Mullaitivu, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, and Trincomalee and their families will each receive five kilograms of yellow split peas and five tins of pink salmon between June and Sept 2021. These emergency take-home rations are part of U.S. Dept of Agriculture’s (USDA) $26 m more..

Jun 25 (EN) The presidential pardon granted to former MP and murder convict Duminda Silva is typical of arbitrary pardoning that serves to weaken the rule of law, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said. “Presidential pardon of Duminda Silva, a former MP convicted of the murder of a fellow politician, is another example of selective, arbitrary granting of pardons that weakens rule of law and undermines accountability,” more..

Jun 26 (CT) The right of women journalists to work without the fear of being sexually harassed in their places of work was once again brought to focus last week, when a number of journalists started recounting episodes of sexual harassment they had undergone at the hand of some prominent media personalities in the country, on social media. Their stories are harrowing, disturbing and reveal the deep trauma that underlie such unpleasant experiences. This is not a new concern. more..

Jun 26 (DM) Dads are the least celebrated and hardly receive gifts. Most often what they do is taken for granted; especially the extra hours they slog in office to ensure the home fires are burning. Some fathers are engaged in employment where life is exposed to huge risks. This could be why there is a day set aside each year to acknowledge what fathers do for their loved ones. Universally that day is the third Sunday in the month of June. This year fathers received much attention on June 20. more..

Jun 26 (DM) A month after the X-press Pearl inferno, carcasses of approximately 100 sea turtles and 46 cetaceans (aquatic mammals including dolphins and whales) have washed ashore as at June 24, 2021. Marine experts speculate that many carcasses may remain in the ocean bed and the magnitude of this incident is more intense. Initially when carcasses were found on the beaches, certain marine experts claimed that it was more..

Jun 26 (DM) Public service is not merely for those who work for the govt, but we all need to be public servants or be at the service of those in need. It is a national, moral and spiritual responsibility. The holy scriptures say our care for others is the measure of our greatness and we need to be willing to bear the burdens of others. As the golden rule says, “Do unto others what you wish they would do unto you,” while helping those who are in need and especially the millions caught up in the poverty trap, more..

Jun 26 (GV) Over the last two decades the plantation sector has undergone huge changes in SL including a sharp reduction in the labour force, poor social welfare provision, lower productivity and a rapid increase in non-estate workers within the plantations. At present of the 1.5 million hill country Tamils, about 139,000 registered workers remain in tea plantations. During the past 10 years, 30 to 40% of workers have left the estates. This pattern not only indicates the drastic increase in more..

Jun 26 (DM) There was considerable political excitement some days ago, when a meeting was scheduled between Prez Rajapaksa and TNA. This was to be the first formal discussion between Prez and TNA after Gota was sworn in as Prez 19 months ago. This aroused great expectations. The meeting however was called off suddenly. It was said that a new date for the meeting would be announced soon. more..

Jun 26 (CT) An economy crumbling by the day, a pandemic mismanaged and refusing to release its shackles, a foreign policy creating more headaches than solutions, strategic domestic assets falling into foreign hands, a parliament in turmoil, and conspiracies and divisions shaking the very edifice of Rajapaksa Regime’s (RR) political foundation: all this has made Sri Lanka’s internal stability, external tranquility and economic recovery increasingly problematic, to say the least. more..

Jun 26 (CT) We live in a nation where actual political choice, which lies between the SJB and SLPP, have at least from a media image perspective pivoted themselves to the lower ranks along our socio-economic spectrum. Two major parties in rhetoric pander to the poor. This takes the form of large public gatherings, rhetoric lacking economic feasibility, and a lack of discourse on public policy. There is such a lack of differentiation in the rhetoric that people have started calling SJB, more..

Jun 26 (TM) Systematic psychological screening and mental health support programmes should be established across the country in order to address the high prevalence of psychological distress among healthcare workers, especially nurses and others who are at greater vulnerability due to pre-existing psychiatric disorders and their exposure to Covid-19 patients owing to their work in treatment units. This proposal was put forward by P.S. Alles, Y.M. Rohanachandra, and L. Amarakoon more..

Jun 26 (Island) I sang hallelujas in exultation when I read Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha in the Sunday Island of June 20 . I refer to his article titled: “GMOA President misleading the public”. He starts his long article full of statistics, proof etc., thus: “Dr Anuruddha Padeniya in a LankaCNews presentation overwhelmed this writer with trepidation and fear. What is his mission in public fear mongering?” If a learned specialist feels fearful how much stronger will frightened feelings be of us Ordinaries? more..

Jun 26 (Island) The questions posed by Arahat Mahinda to King Devanampiyatissa on the historic Poson Poya day, in the 3rd Century BC, keeps ringing in the minds of our people to this day. The questions about a mango tree and the kinsmen of the king were to gauge the king’s intelligence and capacity to understand, which he clearly showed, and we saw Buddhism brought to this island. Although the questions did not more..

Jun 26 (Island) Prez pardons for convicted prisoners always cause public outrage when the beneficiaries happen to be politically connected. It is only natural that Prez Rajapaksa has come under fire over the release from prison of former UPFA MP Duminda Silva. One cannot but agree with the position taken by the BASL on the issue; one considers it is worthy of public endorsement. Taking exception to the presidential action at issue, the BASL has, in a letter to the President, called for an explanation. more..

Jun 26 (CT) The pandemic has reached its peak and there is no option but to win it sooner or later. The President and the Govt have made all possible endeavours to obtain vaccines, which are badly needed. Things are changing fast and countries who overcame the virus are facing difficulties again and the good news is SL is now doing comparatively well. UK has extended controls till 21July. China has sent 3.1 m doses & 10.9 more to come in addition to pledges from many friendly nations. more..

Jun 26 (CT) People of this country witnessed a much anticipated, not so secretive, probably delayed return, an arrival and a release within a space of a few hours. In the past eventful week, UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe finally took oaths as an MP, in the solitary seat his party secured on the national list in Parliament ending ten-month long wait since the 2020 General Election. In less than 24 hours SLPP’s Basil Rajapaksa, more..

Jun 26 (CT) Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) attempt to get players selected for the Residential Training Programme to sign contracts failed once again, as five of the 26 National Cricketers refused to sign. The training was set up to prepare them for the upcoming ‘A’ team and other related programmes. The residential training will be held at the Dambulla Int'l Cricket Stadium starting from 25 June, and will run for close to a month. According to SLC sources, Vishva Fernando, Lasith Embuldeniya, more..

Jun 26 (CT) South Asian Gold Medalist Judoka Chamara Dharmawardana has received a tripartite invitation to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Chamara (28) is ranked 308 in the world in the under-73 category for the Olympics, but received an invitation which is granted to countries with no qualified athletes. Hailing from Wewatanna, Gampola, young Chamara schooled at Wewatanna Maha Vidyalaya, and initially wanted to become a track and field athlete. more..