News

Health concerns at Avenra Garden cause upsets in police circles?

Published

1 year ago

December 25, 2023

editor

The recent sealing of cool rooms at the famed Avenra Garden Hotel in Negombo by PHIs, has led to upsets in political circles, ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ learns.

This is due to doubts whether a prominent politician in the Negombo area had been behind the incident.

This politician, as well as the Avenra Garden owner – Danesh de Silva, have been close associates of late politician – Jeyaraj Fernandopulle.

However, Mr. de Silva is now said to be a close associate of the Rajapaksa family.

During the ‘Aragalaya’ protests last year, the Avenra Garden Hotel was even set on fire by protestors, claiming that Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s money had been pumped into de Silva’s businesses.

The rise of de Silva, from a humble PT teacher at a school to a hotelier owning multiple properties, has also been questioned.

Attempted sabotage of Hiru Christmas party?

Also, separate rumours cite that the aforementioned raid by the PHIs was done as an attempt to sabotage the ‘Senehase Naththala’ christmas programme annually done at the hotel by the ‘Hiru’ TV channel.

However, the programme is currently being held at the hotel with no setbacks.

Legal redress

The Avenra Garden Hotel has also issued a public statement with regard to the raid.

It states that the PHI’s had falsely stated that a certain frozen food was stored incorrectly in the hotel cool rooms and sought a bribe from the hotel management to look the other way.

The statement further notes that the hotel will be seeking legal action and a police complaint has already been lodged in this regard.

News

COVID subvariants spreading in Asia detected in Sri Lanka

Published

10 hours ago

May 31, 2025

editor

The Medical Research Institute of Sri Lanka has confirmed that the COVID-19 variant currently spreading in the Asian region has also been identified in the country.

Dr. Jude Jayamaha, a specialist in viral diseases at the Medical Research Institute, stated that patients infected with the Omicron subvariants LF.7 and XFG are being reported locally.

Dr. Jayamaha explained that this finding was confirmed through research conducted on biological samples collected from several hospitals across the island.

However, he emphasized that there is no need for undue fear regarding these COVID-19 variants.

Health authorities have also stressed the importance of vulnerable groups—such as pregnant mothers, the elderly, and those with chronic illnesses—following health guidelines, including wearing face masks and avoiding crowded places.

Dr. Jayamaha reiterated that new COVID-19 variants emerge periodically, and health authorities are continuously monitoring the situation, so the public should remain calm.

(newswire.lk)

(This story, originally published by newswire.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

News

Anudi misses out from Miss World Quarter-Finals

Published

10 hours ago

May 31, 2025

editor

The Miss World organization has announced its quarter-finalists, selecting 40 contestants from across Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Sri Lanka’s Anudi Gunasekara, was not selected in the top 40, despite being recognized for her impressive performances in the Multimedia and Head-to-Head challenges.

The top 40 consisted of 10 contestants each from Asia & Oceania, Europe, Africa and the Americas.