CATEGORIES

SFG becomes SA's first to be accredited for Product Carbon Footprint

Sri Lanka’s only internationally accredited Sustainability Validation, Verification and Certification body, The Sustainable Future Group (SFG), marked another international milestone recently when it received accreditation from the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) for the conduct of ISO 14067:2018 Product Carbon Footprint Verification.

Pitawala pathana under threat by illegal encroachers

Representatives of several environmental organizations including the “ Dumbara is Ours Organisation” visited the Pitawalapathana montane grassland in the Knuckles range to look into the environmental damage caused by the rampant clearing of the area for building purposes.

Nissanka set to make Test debut

22-year-old Pathum Nissanka is in line to make his Test-match debut in the First Test versus the West Indies in Antigua this Sunday according to Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne.

A Country Obsessed With Racial And Religious Conflicts

Sri Lanka, as a nation has been wasting time debating sensitive racial and religious issues for the past several years, without gaining anything. Only thing the country has been witnessing, as a result, is communities distancing themselves from each other while portraying a false unity among them.

Food Inflation On The Rise As Govt. Struggles To Tame Prices Of Daily Essentials

Sri Lanka’s food prices are on the rise albeit the overall inflation measured by the price indices show benign levels. The government for months has been trying with various tools to bring food prices under control but without any success.

N. Korea Vows To Ignore US Attempts To Establish Contact

SEOUL (DPA), 18 MARCH, 2021 - A top North Korean official has vowed to ignore US attempts to establish contact until Washington has met Pyongyang’s conditions, indicating any movement on the debate about its nuclear weapons programme remains a long way away.

Thailand Braces As Refugees From Myanmar Coup Flee To Border Regions

MAE SOT (REUTERS), 18 MARCH, 2021 - Hundreds of people have fled Myanmar’s towns and cities since last month’s military coup and are sheltering in areas controlled by ethnic militias on the Thai border, an official from one of the groups said on Thursday, as Thailand prepared for a surge of refugees.

UK Vaccine Supply Hit By India Delivery Delay

Britain is facing a squeeze on supply of COVID-19 vaccines next month in part due to a delay in a shipment from India’s Serum Institute that is making AstraZeneca’s shot, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday.

Australia Urges EU To Send 1 Million COVID-19 Vaccines For PNG

CANBERRA (REUTERS), 17 MARCH, 2021- Australia said on Wednesday it will ask the European Union to release 1 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to help Papua New Guinea (PNG) battle a dangerous outbreak that authorities fear could spread to other parts of the region.

Facing ‘Crisis Of Century', EU Threatens Ban On Covid Vaccine Exports To UK

The European Union on Wednesday threatened to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic that would jeopardise plans to restart travel this summer.

EU Envoys Agree First China Sanctions In Three Decades

BRUSSELS (REUTERS), 17 MARCH, 2021-The European Union agreed on Wednesday to blacklist Chinese officials for human rights abuses, two diplomats said, the first sanctions against Beijing since an EU arms embargo in 1989 following the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

India Backs AstraZeneca Shot As COVID-19 Cases Hit Three-Month High

NEW DELHI (REUTERS), 17 MARCH, 2021-India said on Wednesday its coronavirus immunisation campaign would continue with “full rigour” despite some concerns in Europe about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine it relies heavily upon as infections hit a three month high.

‘Killer' Putin Will ‘Pay A Price'

For Alleged Us Election Meddling: Biden

All BreadTalk Outlets To Be Closed From March 20

RIL Property PLC today said the director board of its wholly owned subsidiary FoodBuzz (Pvt) Ltd. has decided to close all BreadTalk outlets from March 20, 2021 until further notice.

Facebook And News Corp Reach Media Deal In Australia

SYDNEY (DPA) 16 ARCH 2021 - reached a three-year deal with Facebook in Australia which will see the social media giant paying for the media company’s content.

No Travel Restrictions For New Year

The government has not taken any decision to impose travel restrictions during the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year season, Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Ramesh Pathirana said yesterday.

Russia To Block Twitter In One Month Unless It Deletes Banned Content

MOSCOW (REUTER S), 16 MARCH, 2021-Russia will block Twitter in one month unless the U.S. social media giant complies with a demand to remove banned content, Russian news agencies cited a senior regulatory official as saying on Tuesday.

SAGT Delivers Another First For Colombo Port

South Asia Gateway Terminal (Pvt) Ltd (SAGT), Sri Lanka’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) container terminal, commissioned two container Top Safety Work Cages to enhance the safety of its container lashing crew for operations on board. The safety cages were operationalized on March 15th.

ROOFING TILE INDUSTRIAL PARK TO BE SET UP AT YAN OYA : AMARAWEERA

The Ministry of Environment has planned to set up another roofing tile industrial park associated with the huge clay deposit near Yan Oya reservoir, a statement from it said.

Indian High Commissioner visits Trincomalee terminal

On his maiden visit to Lanka IOC’s Trincomalee oil terminal on March 14, Gopal Baglay, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka was briefed about various activities and initiatives of Lanka IOC.

BURQA BAN: RIGHT DECISION – PERHAPS AT THE WRONG TIME

Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara last week said that he had signed a Cabinet paper to ‘ban the wearing of burqa’ for national security reasons. The paper should be presented to the Cabinet for approval and then pass a vote in Parliament to become law. Both requirements are a mere formality given that the government has near two-third majority in Parliament.

THOUSANDS PROTEST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA

Thousands have taken to the streets across Australia, protesting violence against women amid allegations that a defense minister sought to silence a rape claim and accusations of sexual assault against an attorney general.

Adani Group slated to become first Indian port operator in SL

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) Ltd., India’s largest private ports & logistics company and a key subsidiary of the diversified Adani Group yesterday said it has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Sri Lanka Ports Authority, acting on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, pursuant to approval from the Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers for the development and operations of the West Container Terminal (WCT) of Port of Colombo.

PM LAUNCHES 170-HOUSE-PROGRAMME TO PLANTATION WORKERS

The Indian Government had pledged to build 10, 000 houses for the estate sector and the construction of 170 houses by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) at Malimboda Estate of the Bogawantalawa Plantation Company at a cost of Rs.510 million commences

At least 388,000 killed in Syria's 10 years of conflict

At least 388,652 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict since it erupted in March 2011, a war monitor reported Sunday.

UK HOME SECRETARY ORDERED TO REVIEW LIFTING BAN ON LTTE

However, another group, the Trans-national Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) – the self-styled government of exiled Tamils around the world – brought a case against the Home Secretary over the ban, saying the Tamil Tigers were no longer engaged in terrorism

AFGHANISTAN BOUNCE BACK WITH SERIES-LEVELLING WIN

Afghanistan v Zimbabwe - 2nd Test

45 cadavers of COVID-19 victims buried - Army

The issue with regards to the burial of covid victims has been resolved

CAN Weekend Market Lifts Entrepreneurs

The CAN Weekend Market organized by Creative Isle in collaboration with Colombo City Centre (CCC) is a platform created to support micro-entrepreneurs severely affected by the pandemic.The creative Isle supporting makers of great products and great ideas from around the island encourage recycle and upcycle initiatives

ComBank Supports Koggala Mangrove Restoration Project's Second Phase

A protective boundary of 3,750 mangrove saplings is to be planted around Kath Duwa, an island in the Koggala Lake, with the continued support of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon to the ‘Koggala Mangrove Restoration and Conservation Project’ of Wildlife and Ocean Resource Conservation (WORC) of Sri Lanka.