Mar 9 (TM) A conspiracy is being hatched inside Hilton Garden Inn, adjacent to the pavilion of the Old Trafford Stadium, in Greater Manchester, England during mid June 2021. A tall, hard-hitting all-rounder had already made secret negotiations with the board officials in Sri Lanka – I’ll arrange the players to sign the contracts and you give me the white-ball captaincy. Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, and Lakshan Sandakan had allegedly take part in the discussion with this to-be more..

Mar 9 (FT) COVID-19 vaccines were administered to 26,582 persons on Monday, with first dose coverage in the country reaching 78.75%. Our World in Data states that 66.1% of the total population has received the second vaccine dose. 16,932,560 persons have received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 14,215,095 persons have received the second dose of a vaccine. The third dose has been administered to 7,347,487 persons. This includes 19,126 persons vaccinated on Monday. more..

Mar 9 (FT) Transparency International SL (TISL) said the Data Protection Bill, which is coming up for its second reading today in Parliament, should not be passed until serious concerns are addressed. Bill aims to regulate the processing of personal data by identifying and strengthening the rights of data subjects – persons whose data is held by a processor or controller. However, TISL said it remains deeply more..

Mar 9 (Island) With International Women’s Day taking on greater meaning for many of us this year, Samsung asked their women colleagues of various backgrounds to share what motivates and empowers them to be their best. In sharing everyone’s unique experiences, the overarching lesson we all came to realize is that great ideas can come from anyone, no matter their skill level, gender or background — an important revelation at a company whose mission it is to help people more..

Mar 9 (CT) Right hand opener Nushal Dharmarathne (174 – 108b, 14x4, 11x6) and Nethma Karunarathne (100*) set up Ananda’s 125 runs win against Dharmasoka in their first round fixture in Ambalangoda yesterday. Kaveesh Sathsara (P. De S. Kularathne) was the other batter to score a century. In Ambalangoda (Ananda won by 125 runs) Ananda: 377/4 (50) (Nushal Dharmarathna 174, Nethma Karunarathne 100 n.o., Hasitha Rajapaksha 2/54) Dharmasoka: more..

Mar 9 (TM) Cabinet granted approval for the Golden Paradise Programme which involves the granting of long-term visas to tourists interested in investing in Sri Lanka. This development was announced by Minister Namal Rajapaksa on his official Twitter handle yesterday. “On the request of Prez Rajapaksa, the Cabinet approved a long-term visa option for tourists investing in SL! This will not only significantly increase the FDI more..

Mar 9 (FT) SL’s COVID-19 detections rose to 653,661 following the detection of 632 COVID-19 cases yesterday and the addition to over 2,000 delayed cases. 2,227 COVID-19 cases detected between 1 February and 15 February were added to the total yesterday after verification. All cases detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster. The previous day, 662 patients linked to the New Year cluster were detected. On Monday, 3,542 PCR tests and 1,785 RATs were conducted, more..

Mar 9 (DN) SL is likely to include promising leg spinner Praveen Jayawickrama for the second Test against India which is scheduled to be played from March 12-16 at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. The inclusion of Jayawickrama will strengthen the spin department for this day-night Test match with already Lasith Embuldeniya in the team. The 25-year-old Embuldeniya had a heavy workload at the first Test match in Mohali where he bowled 46 overs giving away 188 runs with more..

Mar 9 (USE) In honor of International Women’s Day, nine female Chiefs of Mission representing foreign missions to SL came together today with high-level SL female govt officials for an afternoon aimed at Breaking the Bias. Hosted by Ambassador Dewi Gustina Tobing of Indonesia, the Ambassadors, High Commissioners, and other govt officials met as a group for the first time with an aim to meet potential new partners and explore innovative programs that can advance the role of women in Sri Lanka. more..

Mar 9 (Island) Having sacked Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila over their criticism of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa over the handling of the current economic crisis, Prez Rajapaksa yesterday met SLFP leader and former Prez Maithripala Sirisena for urgent talks. Political sources said that lawmaker Sirisena was accompanied by several SLFP members, including party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera. Sources said that SLFP parliamentary group, more..

Mar 9 (TM) Minister of Justice Ali Sabry has told Parliament that he believes reforms should be made concerning the laws governing abortion in the country, in response to a question raised by SLPP Govt MP Shantha Bandara about women dying by suicide due to unwanted pregnancies. “It is vital that we begin this discussion. I personally believe that reforms need to be brought in,” he said, adding that he would welcome such a discussion more..

Mar 9 (TM) Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge had promised the Cabinet of Ministers this week that the ongoing fuel crisis will be resolved by 17 March. “On behalf of the Cabinet, I express my most sincere disappointment to the public, who are heavily inconvenienced by the fuel shortages and the power outages. I understand the crises at the moment. There is no certainty of when exactly electricity will be properly supplied to the public again more..

Mar 9 (TM) A movement of civil society organisations and individuals have commenced signing a petition to protect the life of former CID Director Senior Superintendent of Police (Retd.) Shani Abeysekara, by not allowing the Govt to attack him in any way. Speaking to The Morning, movement organiser Brito Fernando said that the petition and a letter with a collection of signatures would be forwarded to Prez Rajapaksa, Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, more..

Mar 9 (EN) SL devaluation of the rupee to 230 to the US dollar will not help avert the foreign exchange crisis and the one percent rate hike was insufficient with inflation running double digits, opposition legislator Harsha de Silva said. De Silva said money printing had made it impossible to hold the 200 to the dollar exchange rate and large volumes of reserves have been lost as a result. CB conversion regulations had further hurt more..

Mar 9 (DM) Mendis Distilleries which is owned by Arjun Aloysius is yet to settle due tax arrears and therefore it has not been allowed to function, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe told Parliament today. Responding to a question raised by SJB MP Nalin Bandara Jayamaha in the House, the State Minister said Wayamba Distilleries had settled the due amount while it had agreed to settle charges for delayed payment in installments. “Both companies were closed down during the last regime. more..

Mar 9 (DM) The final report of the investigation which the Bribery Commission had initiated with regards to two Sri Lankans Nirupama Rajapaksa and Thirukumar Nadesan, listed in the controversial Pandora Papers would be released soon, the govt informed Parliament today. Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando said the final report was delayed as former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, who wanted to make a statement in connection with the incident, took time to do so citing various reasons. more..

Mar 9 (CT) Confronted with dwindling useable foreign reserves now said to be no more than $ 700 million, Ceylon FT understands via CBSL sources that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to further defer a total of $ 912 million of payments due by SL via the Asia Clearing Union (ACU) this week. It is understood that some US$ 400 million in ACU payments has been removed from the ACU and has been converted to more..

Mar 9 (FT) Strong institutions inspire public confidence. In order to attract investors to capital markets, it is essential that the regulatory authority inspire the confidence of present and potential investors. Two factors that contribute to confidence in institutions are its personnel, and its institutional processes. In this piece, I will explore three categories of provisions in the new SEC Act which strengthen the governance structures of the commission. These are to do with (a) image; more..

Mar 9 (FT) Continuing worries of the Muslims of this country regarding the Government’s plan to meddle with the Muslim personal laws raised some concerns among the Arab and other Muslim nations worldwide. The Muslims have been practicing their personal laws from time immemorial from the times of ancient kings of SL. With the several invasions by foreigners, the Muslim laws took the shape of codifications for example like the present Muslim Marriage & Divorce Act No. 13 of 1951. more..

Mar 9 (ENS) A SL court, on Tuesday, ordered the release of 11 fishermen from Rameswaram arrested by the Lankan Navy last month. Following the order by the Jaffna Magistrate Court, the officials of the Indian Consulate there met the fishermen and told them that steps are being taken to repatriate them at the earliest. Sources said the fishermen will be sent to Rameswaram in a few days. The fishermen, identified as Senthurpandi(47), Ramesh(37), Mathiyalagan(55), Shankar(40), more..

Mar 9 (DH) SL is in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis. Its central bank governor has warned that the country may not be able to make its debt payments this year. With its foreign currency reserves shrinking rapidly, it is on the verge of a sovereign debt default. The alarming state of its finances goes back several years. While the 25-year-long civil war was a drain on its economy, it was the massive loans on high interest that SL took from China for grandiose infrastructure more..

Mar 9 (DM) Gazette notification restricting the imports of 367 non-essential items without a valid licence has been issued, with effect from midnight today, Dept of Imports and Exports Control said. Fish fillets and other fish meat, Milk and cream, buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, butter and other fats and oils derived from milk; dairy spreads, cheese and curd, grapes, fresh or dried, apples, pears and chocolate, are some of more..

Mar 9 (TM) 5th Edition of Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) begins in the Maldives. The two-day Conclave, being hosted by Maldives, is attended by National Security Advisors and Representatives from India, SL, Maldives, Mauritius, Bangladesh and Seychelles. Colombo Security Conclave was founded as a trilateral security framework between India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives with four pillars of security cooperation, covering marine safety and security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, more..

Mar 9 (AD) Personal Data Protection Bill was passed in parliament today (9) with amendments. It was tabled by Minister of Justice Ali Sabry. The Personal Data Protection Bill intends to provide for the Regulation of Processing of Personal Data; to identify and strengthen the Rights of Data Subjects in relation to the protection of Personal Data; to provide for the designation of the Data Protection Authority; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. more..

Mar 9 (EN) An IMF report on SL’s ailing economy will be made available to all MPs and party leaders before an as yet unscheduled all party conference, according to minister Dinesh Gunawardena said. Responding to a question by former PM and UNP MP Ranil Wickremesinghe in parliament on Wednesday, Gunawardena said MPs will be notified of the all party conference. more..

Mar 9 (DM) Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry is planning to conduct a separate research on antibody response after vaccination against Covid-19, apart from the research conducted by the Sri J'pura Uni on the matter, State Minister Channa Jayasumana told Parliament. He said that the Dept of Immunology and Molecular Sciences of Sri J'pura Uni headed by Prof. Neelika Malavige and Dr. Chandima Jeewandara were conducting research on the efficacy and antibidy response after more..

Mar 9 (TM) An Extraordinary Gazette notification has been issued by Prez Rajapaksa, amending the institutional and legal framework of one ministry and two state ministries. The communiqué, dated March 8, was published in terms of the powers vested in the Prez under Articles 44 (1), 45 (1) and 47 (1) (a) (b) respectively of the Constitution. Accordingly, the institutional and legal framework and special priorities of the following ministries and state ministries have been amended by more..

Mar 9 (EN) SL’s rupee currency was quoted 240/255 per US dollar in late afternoon trade hours after the central bank chief at a meeting bankers and confirmed that the currency is floated. “The currency is floated,” CB Governor Nivard Cabraal said after bids only bids were placed on Tuesday at 230 soon after the central bank said a 200 to the US dollar non-credible peg had been abandoned. “Give it a day or two.” The central bank had a meeting with bankers on Wednesday to explain that more..

Mar 9 (Island) The govt has agreed to provide financial assistance for the national tree planting programme called Husma Dena Thuru. The programme had been launched with the sole aim of enhancing SL’s forest cover to 30%, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Ministry of Environment has allocated Rs. 50 million to provide the necessary financial allocations for planting trees during 2022. Minister said that the govt had decided to provide the necessary funds within the next 3 years. more..

Mar 9 (Island) The govt has agreed to provide financial assistance for the national tree planting programme called Husma Dena Thuru. The programme had been launched with the sole aim of enhancing Sri Lanka’s forest cover to 30%, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said. Ministry of Environment has allocated Rs. 50 million to provide the necessary financial allocations for planting trees during 2022. more..

Mar 9 (CT) Treasury has raised the price of entry tickets from Monday (7), to Zoological Gardens and Safari Parks run by the National Zoological Dept, due to the rising cost of animal maintenance and in line with the current foreign exchange rate. Ticket prices were last revised in 2017. These rates will be applicable for locals. The entry tickets to Dehiwala Zoo, Pinnawala Zoo, and Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage for adults has been increased to Rs 200 (82%) from Rs 110 (67%) and more..

Mar 9 (CT) The culture of politicians travelling with nearly 10 escort vehicles, while the public suffers in long queues for essential items should change, Cabinet Spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma said. He said that during a time of power and fuel crisis, politicians should be role models for the people. “I am a politician who travelled in a single vehicle, even before the crises. We as policymakers must provide that ideal to the people of the country. There are dignitaries who must travel under more..

Mar 9 (EN) SL tourism industry is likely to see a dip in arrivals and revenue as Russian national carrier Aeroflot halted international flights amid western sanctions over Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion. Aeroflot on Saturday (5) announced that it will be halting all int'l flights from March 08. The airline was flying to 146 destinations including Sri Lanka before the February 24 invasion. Western nations including the USA, EU more..

Mar 9 (DM) Media does not have to worry about the Data Protection Bill as long as they are prepared to take responsibility for the information they publish, Minister Namal Rajapaksa told Parliament today. Minister Rajapaksa who kicked off the debate on Data Protection Bill in Parliament said journalists should take the responsibility for the information they publish so that issues pertaining to the information will not arise. “Journalists should not come out and say he or she published information saying more..

Mar 9 (AD) Taking into account the ongoing crises in the country, the Ministry of Public Services, PCs and LG has issued a series of guidelines on conserving fuel and electricity at public institutions. Dated March 08, the relevant circular was issued by the secretary to the said ministry, J.J. Ratnasiri. Thereby, public institutions are encouraged to keep air conditioners switched off between 2.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. In addition, officials are encouraged to use the staircase as much as possible more..

Mar 9 (AD) The perpetrator who hacked a teenage girl to death with an axe in the area of Hali-Ela has surrendered to the police today. The suspect in question, aged 33 years, was subsequently placed under arrest, the Hali-Ela Police said. An 18-year-old girl who was returning home from school had been mercilessly hacked to death in broad daylight yesterday. She was identified as a resident of Uduwarawatta area in Hali-Ela. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect more..