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PM crushes Lyca deal during cabinet meeting

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The Cabinet has rejected a decision to lease Channel Eye owned by Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), to the Lyca Group.

The relevant decision had been taken by current Chairman of the SLRC – Dr. Prasad Samasinghe.

Although both parties had entered into an agreement in late July for the handover, no prior permission had been taken from either the SLRC Director Board or the Ministry of Mass Communication.

In this backdrop, Mass Media Minister Bandhula Gunawardena had tabled a special cabinet paper before the cabinet of ministers this morning (Aug. 14), to secure covering approval for the agreement, which had been strongly rejected, reports say.It is also said that this measure, which had been carried out without any transparency, had been severely criticized by several members of the cabinet including Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

The board of directors including the former chairman had proposed to lease the loss ridden ‘Channel Eye’ to a private investor. Accordingly, a public notice request for EOIs for the selection of a Broadcast partner was published on February 03.

With a 17 February closing date, two leading communication institutions forwarded bids.

However, the newly appointed SLRC Chairman had recently taken measures to lease the channel to Lyca Group even without informing the two bidding companies.

It is said that he had already obtained a Rs. 75 million advance payment which he had used to pay off half of the overdue electricity payment of the SLRC.

The public notice published on Feb 03 is as follows : 

(Source : theleader.lk)

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Weather Alert: Showers to ease in Southwest, strong winds forecast in North

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Prevailing showery condition in the southwestern part of the island is expected to reduced gradually from today (01st)

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the afternoon or night.

Fairly strong winds of about (30-40) kmph can be expected at times over Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Hambantota and Trincomalee districts.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

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Aluthgamage and Fernando assigned printing work in prison

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Former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando, sentenced this week to jail for 20 and 25 years, respectively, have been assigned duties in the printing section at the Welikada prison, sources said.

Both of them are being held together away from the main section of the prison’s ‘chapel’ section, where prisoners serving life sentences and those convicted of murder and rape are held. The prison’s printing section prints its own documentation.

Prison sources said that in placing them in relevant wards to serve their jail term, the authorities had taken into consideration the security of the two convicts, as they might have had political enemies.

Mr Aluthgamage was handed a 20-year term of rigorous imprisonment, while Mr Fernando was given a 25-year term of rigorous imprisonment by a High Court trial-at-bar after being found guilty of causing a Rs 53 million loss to the state.

They were accused of importing carrom boards and checkers boards through Sathosa during the 2015 presidential elections and distributing them to clubs.

Their lawyers said yesterday they were awaiting the certified copy of the judgement to prepare the appeal papers. The appeal will be considered by the Supreme Court.

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

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COVID subvariants spreading in Asia detected in Sri Lanka

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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)

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