Mar 8 (TM) Trade Unions attached to the Colombo Port would be opposed to any direct agreement about the development of the West Container Terminal (WCT) between the Govt of Sri Lanka and the Adani Group of Companies, The Morning learnt. “We are against a unilateral agreement with Adani that does not involve the Indian govt,” Trade Unions to Protect the ECT Co-Convener Sanjeewa Kumara Weligama said. more..

Mar 8 (DM) Restaurants at the Cinnamon Lakeside have shut down temporarily until further notice after some staff members of the hotel tested positive for the COVID-19. An official from the hotel confirmed that the restaurants had temporarily halted operations, based on the advice of the Medical Officers of Health and the restaurant premises were being disinfected. The official said that some staff members, who had shown symptoms recently had been removed from operations and more..

Mar 8 (ST) Govt will not issue more weapons or provide weapons training to the plantation sector management, but instead will take up their security concerns at a National Security Council meeting on Tuesday, a minister said. Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara said that providing more weapons could lead to more unrest among workers and would cause a security risk. The minister’s comments came as the plantation sector management appealed for more security more..

Mar 8 (FT) Prez Rajapaksa countered with solid facts on falsehoods over Report of PCoI into Easter Sunday attacks that was submitted to him on 1 Feb being propagated by certain groups seeking undue political advantage. Prez pointed out that his Govt was not in power when the attacks took place and the Report has concluded that the root cause behind this tragedy was inefficiency on the part of Yahapalanaya more..

Mar 8 (DM) Three SL boats carrying nearly 300 kg of narcotic drugs were seized by the Indian Coast Guard off Kerala’s Vizinjam coast and 12 people were detained on Sunday. Two hundred kg of cocaine, 60 kg of hashish and some equipment were seized from the boats registered in Sri Lanka, a senior official said. He said details will be known only after questioning the detained people. The Coast Guard did not immediately reveal the market value of the seized drugs. more..

Mar 8 (DM) Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa today said, they are ready to accept responsibility for not being able to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks as a member of the previous regime. He also called for a proper probe to identify the real perpetrators who were behind the attack. Speaking during the Opposition Leader's mobile service programme in Bundala, he said it is the people’s desire to see a real transparent probe taking place to find the real culprits behind the Easter Sunday attacks. more..

Mar 8 (AD) Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith says he will continue to protest until justice is done for the victims of the Easter attack. He mentioned this speaking a peaceful protest in front of St. Anthony‘s Church in Kochchikade carried out in parallel to the Black Sunday protest declared by the Archdiocese of Colombo. The Catholic Archdiocese of Colombo declared today as a Black Sunday against more..

Mar 8 (FT) Two Ranjiths, Ranjith Senaratne – formerly Professor of Crop Sciences at Ruhuna University and presently Chairman, NSF – and Ranjith Pathirana – also formerly Professor at Ruhuna and presently at Plant and Food Research Australia – have done the impossible but a necessity today. The duos have mobilised 42 scientists and researchers from all over the world and released their collected works on cinnamon industry in the form of an edited publication. more..

Mar 8 (DN) The Information Technology Society of SL (ITSSL) warned users when sharing and clicking messages being shared through social chat platforms on offering free gifts by renowned companies, that is a scam. The ITSSL has observed an increase in this trend recently and advised to avoid clicking and forwarding them as it could expose both the forwarder and the receiver to similar risks such as privacy issues and cyber-attacks. Further, it is possible to install unwanted more..

Mar 8 (FT) My book Heritage Histories shows, definitively I believe, that our histories are all hocus pocus with a view to showing how great a people we are. We (or many of us) claim to be a pure race of Aryans but occasionally, Mongol and Negroid features show up in our families. We claim to be high caste, but the occasional pinky skin, dark pigment, high cheekbone or crinkly hair tells us that all is not well and we are of mixed genes. Likewise, those Sinhalese claiming to be Govi Buddhist more..

Mar 8 (Island) There had been a delay in pressing charges against those involved in the Easter Sunday carnage because the govt was waiting for the report of the PCoI on those attacks, Minister Sarath Weerasekera said. “About 7,600 people were arrested and out of them 300 were identified as directly and indirectly involved in the attacks. There was a delay in pressing charges because we waited for the PCoI report on the Easter Sunday attacks. Now that we have it, process will be more..

Mar 8 (AD) The Secretary of Defence General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd) pledged that the govt will initiate prompt remedial actions on behalf of reputed SL women whose good image is tarnished through social media. Gen. Gunaratne while recalling the inputs of SL women in various fields, highlighted the enormous contribution made by the female overseas workforces to the SL economy through foreign remittance. more..

Mar 8 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa in his message on International Women’s Day, says that the way a country treats and accepts its women is a social indicator of the country’s true development. Prez says that SL has been exemplary in this respect, adding that women have gradually been able to occupy a higher representation in areas of economic, social, and cultural life in SL today. Prez also noted that women’s representation in the political arena needs to be further elevated. more..

Mar 8 (BN) Faced with low foreign-exchange reserves and looming debt repayments, Sri Lanka is borrowing from the contrarian playbook Malaysia used during the days of the Asian crisis in 1998. The island nation has imposed some form of capital controls and curbs on imports in signs that it’s turning inward, partly to end reliance on the IMF before $3.7 billion of foreign debt matures this year. The measures, such as repatriation of export earnings within 180 days from shipment, more..

Mar 8 (Island) The SLFP parliamentary group has been divided over an abortive bid to replace the Chairman of the party, Maithripala Sirisena, MP, and its General Secretary State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, MP. Sources said that several lawmakers had been involved in the alleged conspiracy, apparently taking into consideration the fact that the report of the PCoI into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks was likely to affect more..

Mar 8 (Island) Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said at a meeting of the Thumpane PS at Galagedara, that every Sri Lankan household will have electricity come next Sinhala and Tamil New Year. He said that everyone in Galagedara would also have electricity for the Sinahala and Tamil New Year celebrations. The govt hoped that the relevant public sector officials would do their best to supply power connections to every house in the Galagedara PS Division without any delay, more..

Mar 8 (CT) Police are continuing investigations regarding the Sub Inspector (SI) who allegedly murdered a young woman and left her decapitated body in a travelling bag on Dam Street. Blood drops found in a field close to the suspect’s house are being compared to the victim’s through DNA testing. OIC of the Dam Street Police Ajith Peduruarachchi said if the blood was confirmed to be the victim’s then it would confirm the suspect had brought the woman’s decapitated head back to his home. more..

Mar 8 (EN) Sri Lanka has about US$3.5 billion of foreign currency denominated debt to repay from March to Dec 2021, and the balance is owned by resident holders, officials said. Sri Lanka began the year with about US$ 6.8 billion of forex denominated debt due in 2021 of which about US$ 2.5 billion were domestically owned, Superintendent of Public Debt M Z M Aazim said. These include SL Development Bonds and loans taken from more..

Mar 8 (TM) The reports circulating on social media saying that the COVID-19 vaccine leads to infertility are false and there is no evidence to support this, Professor Neelika Malavige said. Professor Malavige of the Dept of Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences at the Uni of Sri J'pura, stated that there were several false reports on social media about the consequences of using the COVID vaccine and none of them were true. more..

Mar 8 (AD) Seven more bodies of individuals who succumbed to COVID-19 have been buried at the Ottamavadi area in Batticaloa District today. Accordingly, a total of 31 corpses infected with novel coronavirus have been buried since the policy on mandatory cremation was reversed last month. On March 5, Sri Lanka began burials of COVID victims at Ottamavadi in Eastern Province. The guidelines for the burial of COVID-19 victims were issued by the Director-General of Health Services more..

Mar 8 (USE) Twenty women from Matara celebrated International Women’s Day today by participating in an innovative entrepreneurship training program supported by the U.S. govt in partnership with Department of Samurdhi Development. Representatives from the U.S. and SL govts welcomed the women and announced the expansion of the program to an additional 7,500 participants in six districts in Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 8 (AD) The platform developed targeting technology startups in SL, StartupSL.lk website has exceeded 400 startup registrations as reported by the Information and Communication Technology Agency in Sri Lanka. This website has been launched with the aim of bringing startups, investors and other professional organizations into a single platform. In order to empower these entrepreneurs, Finance Ministry has mandated that tenders for all Govt software contracts costing less than more..

Mar 8 (CT) A total of 13 individuals had died within a period of 24 hours on Saturday due to road accidents, DIG Ajith Rohana said. He added that it follows a rise in road accidents, as even on 4 March, 15 deaths were reported. DIG further said out of the eleven deaths, nine were motorcyclists, and two were pedestrians. Moreover, of the 13 deaths, 11 were due to accidents that occurred on 6 March, and the remaining two succumbed to their injuries, having met accidents on a previous date. more..

Mar 8 (TM) Former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara said that he himself had made the complaint regarding a 2-acre plot of land in Dambulla which is currently the subject of a massive controversy. “My wife (Yehali Sangakkara) and I were the ones who wrote a letter to the Commissioner General of Lands Keerthi Gamage, urging him to conduct an investigation about the land deed we obtained, as we received information that that land was more..

Mar 8 (TM) It is no secret that Sri Lanka Cricket has, over the years, earned a reputation as an organisation rife with corruption and mismanagement. A direct result of this has been the abysmal performance of the national team in recent times. Over the last 25 years, successive ministers of sports have made valiant attempts to turn back the tide of corruption and mismanagement by dismissing SLC boards and appointing no less than eight interim committees (IC) under many more..

Mar 8 (NR) The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organisation has requested the Chief Prelates of the three chapters to issue a joint statement pertaining to their stance on the report by the PCoI that probed the Easter Sunday attacks. Speaking to media after calling on the Chief Prelates in Kandy today General Secretary of the BBS venerable Galagodaththe Gnanasara thera said the report by the Commission is warped and claimed they will launch a satyagraha campaign in protest. more..

Mar 8 (EN) Serum Institute of India (SII) will deliver one million doses of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine this month and the next as promised, State Pharmaceutical Corporation said. The SII has confirmed to the SPC its commitment to delivering the doses as scheduled, SPC General Manager said. This is in contrast to media reports that the remaining one million of a 1.5 million consignment ordered by SL may not be delivered more..

Mar 8 (DM) An e-channeling system would be introduced enabling the public to book time and date to get Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 in the Colombo Municipality area in the future, Mayoress of Colombo Rosy Senanayake said. She said steps are being taken in full swing to implement this operation. She made these remarks at an event held at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) premises to introduce the Automated Appointment Booking System to avail services at the CMC. more..

Mar 8 (TOO) SL Embassy in the Sultanate along with the Export Development Board of Sri Lanka (EDB) organised an introductory webinar meeting in association with Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) with a view to connecting SL and Omani Information and Communications Technology/ Business Process Management (ICT/BPM) sector companies. Opening the webinar, the Director-General of the Export Development Board of SL, Chitranjali Dissanayake, said SL's Ambassador to Oman. more..

Mar 8 (Island) One-time US State Department employee Daya Gamage says the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol has prompted the US to adopt a bipartisan Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA) of 2021 to investigate acts of domestic terrorism. The retired political specialist pointed out how swiftly the US acted after the US Dept of Justice indicated the need for domestic anti-terrorism law in wake of Jan 6 Capitol attack. more..

Mar 8 (CT) Three Nigerians, four Maldivians and two Indians were arrested for staying in Sri Lanka without valid visas, Police Spokesman, DIG Ajith Rohana said. The suspects were arrested in a special operation conducted in Colombo and the suburbs. DIG Rohana added the suspects were arrested in Mount Lavinia, Dehiwala, Moratuwa, Slave Island and Grandpass and will be produced in Court shortly. DIG Rohana warned that certain Nigerian nationals have been involved more..

Mar 8 (DM) Officers attached to the Customs Central Investigation Bureau today seized a container with 15,200 litres of Ethanol worth Rs.20 million, Customs Director General Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Vijitha Ravipriya said. He said the container was brought to the Colombo Port by declaring to Customs as Industrial Chemical. The container reached the country on August 9 last year from Singapore. The consignment arrived under the name of a company owned by a businessman who did not more..

Mar 8 (DM) The CID today issued notice on former State Minister and SJB MP Ashok Abeysinghe to appear before CID tomorrow to record a statement over the speech he made on Easter Sunday attacks, Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana said. He said six MPs have lodged complaints with the CID on Sunday to initiate an investigation into the statement made by Abeysinghe. more..

Mar 8 (FT) The country’s first-ever end-to-end fully-integrated online supermarket specialising in grocery was recently launched to cater to households all over Sri Lanka. The service intends to deliver groceries and other items swiftly, conveniently and safely to the doorstep. SUPERBOX is geared to offer a wide range of products to customers across categories of fresh, chilled, frozen and dry. Two veteran business personalities in the country have teamed up to launch SUPERBOX, more..

Mar 8 (DM) Lesser than 10,000 PCR tests have been conducted in the country daily within last three days. Accordingly, a total number of 7,366 PCR tests were done on Friday, 8,343 on Saturday and 9,575 tests yesterday. A total number of 359 COVID-19 infections have been reported in the country yesterday, and the majority of 77 cases were from the Gampaha District, while 74 from Colombo District. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country stands at 85,695 as of today. more..

Mar 8 (PMD) Families who had been in possession of govt lands without clear ownership started receiving grants under the patronage of Prez Rajapaksa today at the Prez Secretariat. The govt’s objective is to ensure that every family owns a land with undisputed ownership as envisioned in the National Policy Framework Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour. Under the provisions of Land Development Ordinance more..

Mar 9 (DM) The incident where a nine year old girl in Delgoda died on March 2 while performing what is called exorcism by a woman, has become just another incident for the media and most importantly for the authorities concerned- the Education Ministry, National Child Protection Authority, National Secretariat for Early Childhood Development, Department of Probation and Child Care Services, Police Children and Women’s Bureaus & NGOs that are concerned about the child’s rights. more..

Mar 9 (DM) Intending to build public opinion against the foreign private enterprises taking over lands on a large scale and causing irreversible impact on the environment, a forum named Our Land is Not For Sale was formed recently with the participation of environmental activists and other civil groups movements in collaboration with the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR). Today we see a tendency that the State mechanism has created room for selling lands and resources to more..

Mar 9 (DM) SLMC leader MP Rauff Hakeem, in an interview with, responds to queries and allegations about Easter Sunday attack and the report of the PCoI that probed it. Also, he spells out his position on the UNHRC process and takes swipe at the govt on the issue involving the burial of Muslim-COVID-19 victims. Q: What is your general assessment of the political situation? A: The govt is running without any proper direction. more..