Feb 12 (CT) Airline Pilots Guild of SL has recommenced their work-to-rule campaign. A senior source from the union stated that they had been forced to restart their work-to-rule campaign due to the failure of SriLankan Airlines management to provide a just resolution for their work related issues. The source stated that they will be resorting to their campaign till SriLankan’s top brass decides to give a hearing to their grievances. According to a union spokesman, those resorting to more..

Feb 12 (AD) Parts of the country may experience interruptions to the power supply from today, says the chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL). According to Mr. Janaka Ratnayake, the West Coast Power Station in Kerawalapitiya and the privately-owned Sojitz Kelanitissa Power Station in Colombo are now out of order after experiencing technical issues. West Coast Power Station and the Sojitz Power Station add 270 MW and 130 MW to the national grid, respectively. more..

Feb 12 (AD) Govt Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA) today temporarily withdrew from the ongoing strike action due to the enjoining order issued by the court. However, the other trade unions will carry on the strike, which entered its sixth consecutive day today. On Thursday (10), District Court of Colombo issued two enjoining orders against the GNOA and its chairman Saman Ratnapriya calling for more..

Feb 12 (TM) The vaccine roll out for children below the age of 12 years is still in the suggestive stage and no firm decision has been made as yet, says Dr. Hemantha Herath. “This is still in the suggestion stage, and no firm decision has been made as yet. As for children between the ages of 12-15 years who have already received their first anti-covid vaccine, they will soon be eligible for the 2nd dose. Some research is required before the administration of the covid vaccine for kids below age of 12 yrs, more..

Feb 12 (ST) Students of Colleges of Education who have returned to their studies after a long absence say they are appalled that personal lockers have been broken, and books, belongings and mattresses torn and destroyed. They have returned after more than a year’s leave due to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Colleges of Education were used as treatment and or quarantine centres during the first and second outbreaks of the pandemic. “As we were told to leave within a day’s notice and more..

Feb 13 (TM) Having endured crisis upon crisis in the recent past, if one were to have the reasonable expectation of clearer skies ahead, going by what’s in store in the next couple of weeks, all indications are that the worst is yet to come. On the part of the Govt – although it must surely be desperate for at least a brief respite from the continuous headaches it has had to endure, most of which unfortunately are of its own making – the likelihood of a resurgence in Covid cases, a tough battle at the UNHRC more..

Feb 13 (CT) A long standing controversy that remained heavily conjectured among interested groups in the society came to a virtual intermission pause with the tabling of the so-called Agreement for a Joint Venture between the CPC and the LIOC. The text of the Agreement is not yet available for the Public but a document Titled Regaining Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm has been tabled in Parliament giving certain excerpts of the said agreement. In summary the details contained are as follows; more..

Feb 13 (SO) Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the SLFP has not taken any decision to quit the Govt, adding that the first thing they have to do is to support and strengthen the Govt to rescue the country from this disastrous situation. He said Prez Rajapaksa and PM Rajapaksa have indicated that if there were lapses on the part of the Govt during the past two years, they are prepared to correct themselves and move forward. more..

Feb 13 (SO) Covid case numbers are up again and by a significant margin too. Around 1,300 patients are detected daily while the death toll is also up, to around 30-35 daily. While nowhere near the figures experienced in August last year, these are nevertheless alarming numbers, given the fairly high rate of vaccination, at least in terms of the first two doses. The new wave, if it can be called as such, is driven mainly by the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus, which is said to be less lethal more..

Feb 13 (CT) The first out of the blocks was the JVP. It declared its readiness to lead and presented a basic program as its Rapid Response to Overcome Current Challenges. It pulled no punches in its opening salvo: “We do not need a sophisticated grasp of statistics or politics to understand the socioeconomic catastrophe that has befallen our country due to the misguided economic and social policies pursued by various govts since independence.” more..

Feb 13 (SO) Dr. Prasantha Jayamanna, who assumed duties as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) on January 20, said the Port of Colombo will become the 13th largest in the world with the addition of another seven million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) capacity by 2024-2025. Currently the Colombo Port has a capacity of seven million TEUs. Dr. Jayamanna, also spoke about his vision for SL’s ports in making more..

Feb 13 (GV) Protection and justice for the people of SL will be discussed by the UNHRC at its 49th session from Feb 28 to April 1. In the run up, the regime has made some conciliatory gestures to try to win international support. Yet grave failings in human rights and democracy continue and calls for a more just and humane stance have at times been responded to negatively, if not ignored. In March 2021, the UNHRC passed a resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability & human rights more..

Feb 13 (Island) Dr. Harsha de Silva’s call for a dialogue between the president and the opposition about the foreign exchange crisis that the country is now mired in should resonate among both friend and foe alike. We quote him in our front page today rejecting claims that the situation is not as bad as it seems and calling for the dialogue “to better understand the problem and find a solution together as we are all in this together.” The people are very well aware of how bad the situation is; more..

Feb 13 (Island) Udaya Gammanpila’s advice to politicians over the growing economic crisis is a five-point checklist: accepting there is an issue, identifying it, understanding it, revealing the truth to the people, and leading by example by making sacrifices. The checklist reads like the Buddha’s take on the notion of suffering, all the way from accepting it right down to avoiding it. Social media users, particularly on Twitter, were quick to criticise it, calling it yet another example of more..

Feb 13 (Island) There have been some sensational stories coming out of Australia during cricket contests. A recollection of some of them is not a bad idea at a time when the national cricket team is down under. It is a tradition in Australia after a game for the losing team to visit the winning team and have a beer or just have a chat. This has been a practice that has been in place for decades and once at the SCG when the Sri Lankans were in the Australian dressing room, more..

Feb 13 (CT) In the recent past, severe weather-related complications in Sri Lanka caused flash floods in small towns, as rivers and streams swelled, submerging houses along river banks and covering the main roads, for instance in Kalutara. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) have studied SL's climatic conditions and have devised plans to address issues more..

Feb 13 (ST) In an era of information disclosure that Sri Lanka has pledged to be part of after passing a world class Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2016, it is puzzling why a Bill on Data Protection presented to Parliament recently by the PM must revert to ancient terminology by including a clause on Official Secrecy. Officers appointed to a Govt controlled Data Protection Authority are required to guarantee strict secrecy in respect of information in discharging their duties, the only exceptions being more..

Feb 13 (SO) Sarangi Silva of the Army was the only athlete to set a new Sri Lanka record in the women’s long jump event on the final day at the selection trial meet that concluded at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday. She set the record in the morning with a leap of 6.65 metres to better her previous leap of 6.48 metres done in 2021. The rest of the events did not produce any records although some impressive performances were witnessed but not good enough to be selected to the national squad. more..

Feb 13 (TM) Efforts undertaken to reform the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) have been unsuccessful, mainly due to poor support extended by the Ministry of Power, CEB Chairman M.M.C. Ferdinando charged last week, in the backdrop of the Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) yesterday announcing possible power cuts due to breakdowns at two thermal power plants. While the CEB and Power Ministry lock horns, more..

Feb 13 (Island) Commercial Bank of Ceylon has collaborated with the Sri Lanka Insurance Institute (SLII), the local body affiliated to the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK, to provide special education loans and easy payment plans to the Institute’s members, in support of their career aspirations. Concessions offered to students of SLII by Commercial Bank include education loans with low interest rates that would finance up to 90% of the Institute’s course fees and more..

Feb 13 (TM) The Finance Ministry is considering granting a 50% tax concession for companies that had applied for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) but could not go public before the 31 Dec 2021 deadline, even though the concession in question ended last year. Ministry of Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle said that some of the companies that had lodged with the CSE and could not go public before the deadline had requested tax concessions. more..

Feb 13 (SO) Top officials of the world football governing body FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are almost akin to powerful political figures as they hob knob with heads of states. The high-profile visit of FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the PM’s Trophy tournament hosted in Colombo in November showed the world that everything is hunky-dory with football in Sri Lanka. Infantino heaped praised on the SL football leadership under presidency of Jaswar Umar more..

Feb 13 (SO) The Surcharge Tax is a progressive form of tax as it fulfills the principles of imposing a tax such as efficiency, ability to pay and paying it in peace by those who are targeted, a tax expert said. However, the bone of contention of the tax is that the Employees’ Provident Fund and the Employees’ Trust Fund (EPF and ETF) which comprises a taxable income of over Rs. 2 billion, the savings of the working population, will have to bear a significant tax. more..

Feb 13 (Island) Despite the availability of an abundant vaccine supply against COVID-19, less than 35% of Sri Lankans over 12 years have taken the booster dose. Health officials are concerned about this low level of booster intake in a context where more than 95% Lankans over 12 years have received the first dose and nearly 80% of them have also received the second jab. The floating of misinformation and disinformation more..

Feb 13 (SO) Well-known Sri Lankan racing driver Dilantha Malagamuwa who achieved his dream of becoming a world renowned racer said that his second dream is to help Sri Lanka manufacture its first vehicle in the near future. He was addressing the media at a ceremony to sign an MoU between Sri Lanka’s leading trailer manufacturer and exporter Tantri Trailers and the Vocational Training Authority of Sri Lanka (VTASL) to employ students following welding courses at the VTASL. more..

Feb 13 (PTI) SL has announced resumption of visa on arrival facility for international tourists, except travellers from 10 countries including Pakistan and Nepal. The on arrival visa facility for foreign tourists was on hold since the pandemic broke out in the country in 2020. The move is expected to give a much-needed boost to the island nation’s tourism industry, a major forex earner, which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic. “Issuance of on arrival electronic travel authorisation (ETA) more..

Feb 13 (TM) Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) on Friday issued an ultimatum to the paying electricity consumers that unless they reduce consumption, the regulator may have to grant permission for a request by CEB for planned power cuts in the next three months. The announcement by the PUCSL comes as the regulator prepares to conduct SL’s first public hearing on energy sector-related allegations more..

Feb 13 (TM) Despite the recent release of a series of high-profile persons held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), 275 individuals detained under the Act still remain in the prison system. Prisons Department Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said that of the 275 persons detained, many were being held in remand custody and the number included suspects being held following the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019. “At present there are 275 prisoners remanded under the PTA,” he said. more..

Feb 13 (Island) Surado Campus of Business Management, a privately-led vocational training institution which pioneered healthcare training programmes aimed at creating local and foreign employment opportunities, initiated its latest corporate social responsibility (CSR) project in the SOS Village at Piliyandala successfully. The organisation, an internationally acclaimed industry leader in higher education, has initiated a new wave of global job opportunities for Sri Lankans. more..

Feb 13 (SO) SJB MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar appreciated the decision taken by Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana to rename the Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund after founder Lalith Athulathmudali. Speaking during the debate on Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund (Amendment) Bill, MP Markar said it shows our gratitude as a nation in respect of the great human Athulathmudali who introduced this fund for the benefit of university students. more..

Feb 13 (TM) Govt is looking at all available options to ensure an uninterrupted vaccination drive if the ongoing health sector trade union (TU) action persists. When asked if the ongoing health sector TU action was affecting the vaccination process, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella claimed that it had not had any significant impact on the drive up to date. “There is some effect from the strikes, however it has not hindered the process at large. We are looking at using all available options to aid more..

Feb 13 (AD) Prez Rajapaksa says the nature or the extent of challenges do not matter in fulfilling the promises made to the people. Development works continue in the country while taking necessary steps to control the COVID-19 pandemic, Prez said, pointing out that the economy, which had been collapsed for nearly two years, is gradually recovering. Prez made these remarks participating in the first round of discussions more..

Feb 13 (CI) You might get the better of Australia's batters, but then you have to contend with their world-class attack as well. Although Sri Lanka did well to restrict Australia to less than 150 in the opening match, they never had the measure of the chase. Australia's bowlers were too skillful and accurate; Sri Lanka's top order was inexperienced and ineffective. The Sri Lankan batters struck the occasional boundary, suggesting they were not totally out of their depths. more..

Feb 13 (ST) SL’s vulnerable households have apparently reduced their food consumption or switched to comparatively cheaper but less nutritious foods, with an overall negative effect on their food security, health and nutrition status, an update from a UN agency said. Issuing a Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) update on January 26, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that as rice, wheat and sugar products account for about 40, 12, 10% more..

Feb 13 (ST) The CEB directors have decided to appoint with immediate effect former Power Ministry Additional Secretary Dr. Susantha Perera and former General Manager M. R. Ranathunga as consultants with monthly salaries and allowances of Rs one million each. The decision was taken on the instruction of Minister Gamini Lokuge. These two officers are required to report directly to the CEB Chairman. more..

Feb 13 (AD) The autopsy of the sick boy who died in a house located in Badalgama area has revealed that he was positive for Covid-19. He died on Feb. 07 after the attempt of his parents and grandmother at faith healing went awry, resulting in the death of the child. The post-mortem of the 10-year-old, which was conducted on Saturday, revealed that he had suffered from phlegm blockage, fever, as well as novel coronavirus. The parents had kept the sick boy at home for about a week, praying for more..