3rd dose begins today with health workers
By Buddhika SamaraweeraThe administration of the US-German Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to frontline health workers under the programme of administering a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccines is to commence today (1). He said that as the third Covid-19 vaccine dose, the Pfizer vaccine is planned to be given to those working in the health, army, police, airports, ports and tourism sectors at the initial stage. “After that, the third dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be administered to people over the age of 60. He added that the third dose is planned to be given six months after the provision of the second Covid-19 vaccine dose. The State Ministry of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals has recently placed an order of 14 million Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines needed for the programme of administering a third dose of Covid-19 vaccines.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 22:31 UTC
Daily count of new Covid-19 cases moves to 542
October 31, 2021 09:21 pmThe Health Ministry says that another 154 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, pushing the daily count of new cases to 542. This also increases the tally of coronavirus cases confirmed in the country thus far to 541,073. 14,532 patients infected with the virus are currently being treated across the island while total recoveries is 512,798.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 22:06 UTC
Apple quietly discontinues the 21.5-inch Intel-powered iMac
Apple has apparently pulled its 21.5-inch Intel-based iMac from shelves (via MacRumors). The 21.5-inch iMac was still available after Apple’s October 18th Unleashed event — it didn’t appear to go missing until sometime this week, according to MacRumors. A “Buy” button also doesn’t appear for the 21.5-inch iMac on Apple’s product comparison page. As MacRumors notes, you can still purchase a refurbished 21.5-inch iMac from Apple’s online store. In March, Apple discontinued the 512GB and 1TB configurations of the 21.5-inch iMac, so the company has been slowly phasing out this model for a while.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 15:34 UTC
A baby girl would live on in the lives that will be saved
Happiness, contentment and hope were theirs, when into their lives came Sonakshi, their tiny baby girl on January 25. Sonakshi needed a liver transplant and so far Sri Lanka has not performed a transplant in such a tiny baby. (The Sunday Times exclusively reported this trailblazin g event in an article headlined ‘Child liver transplant, a medical first’ on July 26, 2020.) Dissanayake, Dean, & Prof. Shaman Rajindrajith, Professor of Paediatrics, of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo; and the CNCLD team. The most important participants at the simple function were Sonakshi’s Amma and Thaththa, Shalika and Mahesh for whom their baby girl would live on in the lives that will be saved by the CNCLD.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 06:39 UTC
Oppo Reno7 series fully revealed ahead of launch
Oppo is readying its Reno7 series and contrary to popular belief, there won't be a Reno7 Pro+ version, so instead, we will see a lower-end Reno7 SE. This leaves the Reno7 Pro on top of its series. Anyway, the report suggests that the standard Reno7 and Reno7 Pro share a good chunk of the hardware. Oppo Reno6 seriesThe camera department segregates the two - 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor joined by a 16MP ultrawide camera and 2MP unit for depth sensing. Finally, the Reno7 SE is expected to bring a smaller 6.43-inch 90Hz display, Dimensity 920 chip and up to 12GB/256GB memory configuration.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 02:05 UTC
Mahindra unveils the new Bolero City Pik-Up
Announces launch of the first “Made in Sri Lanka” 1.4 Tonne PikUp from Mahindra Ideal Lanka plant in Welipenna. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), together with Ideal Motors, a fully owned subsidiary of the Ideal Group, recently unveiled the new Bolero City Pik-Up in Sri Lanka in the presence of Minister of Industries, Wimal Weerawansa. Minister Weerawansa took a tour of the Mahindra Ideal Lanka Automotive Assembly Plant and saw the assembly process of the new Bolero City Pik-Up. All these make the New Bolero City Pik-Up an ideal pick up for urban goods transportation across the island. The Bolero City Pik-Up has a payload capacity of 1400 kg carry heavy loads effortlessly.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 01:35 UTC
One country, one law: Justice Minister Sabry not consulted about task force, not happy over move
One country, one law: Justice Minister Sabry not consulted about task force, not happy over move By Chris Kamalendran Muslim members claim they were unaware who was to head it View(s): View(s):Justice Minister Ali Sabry said he was unaware of the setting up of the “One Country, One Law” Presidential Task Force headed by Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Mr Sabry told the Sunday Times he was not consulted on the setting up of the Task Force. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a gazette notification on Tuesday announcing the appointment of a 13-member Presidential Task Force for “One Country, One Law,” with Ven. The Sunday Times understands that none of the task force’s Muslim members was aware that the task force would be headed by Ven. Meanwhile, during the government party leaders’ meeting at Temple Trees on Thursday, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) Vice President and former Provincial Councillor Senthil Thondaman raised issue over non-representation of the Tamil community in the Presidential Task Force.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
MAGA to design and build new Faculty of Technology at the Rajarata University
MAGA to design and build new Faculty of Technology at the Rajarata University View(s):MAGA has been awarded the contract for the design and construction of a Faculty of Technology at the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (RUSL) in Mihintale, Anuradhapura. Once completed, the faculty will house five departments including Bio-Process Technology, Materials Technology, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and will offer a number of industry-focused, practical-oriented degree programmes that prepare undergraduates for careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The faculty is designed in partnership with design subcontractor Engineering Consultants Ltd (ECL), one of the largest multi-disciplinary consulting companies in Sri Lanka. The design will retain Rajarata University’s unique architectural style, merging its colonial and traditional architectural features within a sustainable and green learning environment. Maga Engineering isSri Lanka’s largest construction company and a key partner in developing the nation’s educational infrastructure.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
IRD warns of more revenue loss; urgent tax reforms not done
IRD warns of more revenue loss; urgent tax reforms not done By Damith Wickramasekara View(s): View(s):The Government continues to suffer colossal losses in tax revenue due to the 2019 decision to remove and reduce many taxes, and the situation will only become worse if urgent tax reforms are not done, officers of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) warn. The Government’s tax cuts in 2019 had cost the IRD approximately Rs601 billion in tax revenue, Mr Udayasiri noted. It also reduced Value Added Tax (VAT) from 12% to 8%. The IRSU submitted its proposals calling for urgent tax reforms to recover at least some of the lost tax revenue, including proposals to reintroduce some of the taxes, he further remarked. State Minister Semasinghe meanwhile, conceded that the Government had lost billions owing to the 2019 tax cuts.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
Climate summit: Ambitious targets and ambiguities
Climate summit: Ambitious targets and ambiguities View(s):The world’s leaders gather in the salubrious climes of Scotland this weekend to hammer out a strategy to cool the planet before earthlings self-destruct their habitat by the end of the century, if not sooner. Will it be a “Good COP- Bad COP” summit, asked one analyst. President Rajapaksa has already outlined his thinking on climate change. Speaking recently at the UN General Assembly, he referred to Sri Lanka being a climate vulnerable country that was “deeply aware of the dangers of climate change”. faces climate changeThere appears to be a climate change domestically as well, with public agitation against the Government having a ‘snowball effect’.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
Minority parties push for PR system in future elections
Minority parties push for PR system in future elections View(s):Both Tamil and Muslim minority political parties in the country have decided to work together on electoral reforms, and collectively decided to demand Proportional Representation (PR) system in the upcoming elections. All minority political parties decided on a common stand of demanding the PR system in the upcoming Provincial and Parliamentary polls. They are of the view that any other mixed electoral system would be detrimental to adequate representation of minority communities in the country. A Parliament Select Committee was appointed with the mandate to identify appropriate reforms to election laws, electoral system and to recommend necessary amendments. The Committee is currently hearing representations from political parties and the public.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
Mini floods hit Nuwara Eliya for fourth time in a month
Mini floods hit Nuwara Eliya for fourth time in a month View(s):Nuwara Eliya town was hit by mini-floods for the fourth time in a month on Friday causing inconvenience to residents, officials said. Unauthorised constructions have been the main cause for the floods. Lawson strreet where the international Buddhsit centre is located, a trade complex, the fire unit located in the Victoria garden were were some of the cites that were affected. Several roads leading out of the town were also affected with office workers returning home being inconvenienced with some spending as much as five hours on the road. Nuwara Eliya District secretary Nandana Galabada said discussions should be held with local authorities to take steps to avert such floods again.
Source:Sunday Times
October 31, 2021 00:40 UTC
The Weekly Authority: Edition #166
⚡ Welcome again to The Weekly Authority, the Android Authority newsletter that breaks down the top Android and tech news from the week. We ask: Could the next big solar storm cause an internet apocalypse? What causes a solar storm? Although the likelihood of one of these storms hitting the earth is How could a solar storm affect our internet? If disrupted by a solar storm , these could theoretically take out the entire subsea network.
Source:The Nation
October 31, 2021 00:11 UTC
Junior doctors plan 'maximum damage' strike action
Anonymous trainee doctors are reportedly organising on Reddit to seek election to senior positions in the BMA in order to steer the organisation to major strike actions. Junior doctors are angry over their pay and conditions as well as the amount of student debt they face after completing six years at medical school. Under the plan, pro-strike candidates will be nominated to stand for election with a concerted effort to gain support for radical action. Junior doctors complain that their pay has fallen by 30 per cent during the past decade's austerity measures. The BMA plans to ballot its members on industrial action after it rejected Mr Javid's plans for general practice.
Source:The Nation
October 30, 2021 22:58 UTC
316 more patients recover from COVID-19
October 30, 2021 03:57 pmThe Ministry of Health says 316 more COVID-19 patients in total were discharged from medical care today (October 30) as they have recovered from the virus infection. This brings the total number of recoveries reported in the country to 512,481. Since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, Sri Lanka has confirmed as many as 539,416 cases of COVID-19. According to official data, 13,229 virus-infected patients are currently receiving treatment at hospitals, treatment centers and homes. Meanwhile, the death from novel coronavirus stands at 13,706.
Source:The Nation
October 30, 2021 22:58 UTC