Deadly Marburg virus discovered for first time in West Africa
Health authorities in Guinea have confirmed one death from Marburg virus, a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola, the World Health Organization says. It marks the first time that the deadly disease has been identified in west Africa. There have been 12 major Marburg outbreaks since 1967, mostly in southern and eastern Africa. “The potential for the Marburg virus to spread far and wide means we need to stop it in its tracks,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, said. Marburg outbreaks start when an infected animal, such as a monkey or a fruit bat, passes the virus to a human.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:56 UTC
SL tourism attracts $ 1 b investments despite pandemic
Over the last 15 months, from March 2020 to June 2021, the Government has attracted over $ 950 million in investments, which would be dedicated to revitalising the burgeoning tourism sector of the country. These ventures will be executed under the auspices of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA). The level of interest shown by global investors is a positive sign for things to come and indicative of the immense potential inherent to the local tourism sector. We have taken great care to streamline the investment process, so it is more in line with what international investors expect. The SLTDA has also established an Investment Relations Unit (IRU) to expedite the approval of all tourism investments.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
Bonsoir Diaries: A French perfume named Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Aman is the name of a celebrated Indian film actress who starred in Hindi films, notably in the 1970s and 1980s. Zeenat Aman is also the name of an exquisite French fragrance launched in Colombo by the celebrated French perfume manufacturer, Robertet. She was here to grace the launch of “Parfum Zeenat Aman”, an exquisite fragrance created by the celebrated French perfume manufacturer, Robertet. Zeenat Aman was all pervasive, in every sense of the word. Colombo spoke about that launch for months to follow.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
Fitch downgrades AMW Capital Leasing due to persisting import ban
Fitch Ratings has downgraded AMW Capital Leasing And Finance PLC’s (AMWCL) National Long-Term Rating to “A(lka)”, from “AA-(lka)”. Ltd. (AMW), a large importer of motor vehicles in Sri Lanka that owns 90% of AMWCL, will extend extraordinary support to AMWCL, if needed. AMW and AMWCL share a common brand, which means there could be reputational damage to AMW should AMWCL default. Fitch sees meaningful integration, largely through board representation from both AMW and its ultimate parent, Al Futtaim. Its franchise benefits from its linkages to AMW, but its market share among finance and leasing companies remains small.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
A WNPS Youth Skills Workshop: Reptiles need protection too
Reptiles and amphibians are a wonderfully diverse group that, to be honest, get a very unfair rap. On 14 August, the WNPS Youth Wing, the youth-led arm of the Wildlife and Nature Preservation Society (WNPS), Sri Lanka’s oldest (and the world’s third oldest) nature protection society, will host their next Youth Skills Workshop, an online webinar aimed at building awareness and imparting skills on wildlife issues and skills. Dr. Somaweera is an evolutionary biologist with a broad research interest in how reptiles adapt to a changing world. Growing up, Dr. Somaweera shared that he had always been very passionate about understanding things that a lot of people were scared of or didn’t focus on. “I see a good trend in the youth at the moment,” Dr Somaweera said, adding: “Social media and channels like National Geographic have helped.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
Central Bank completes asset management company blueprint
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has completed the preparation of the blueprint on forming a national asset management company as the policy paper that was presented with the CBSL annual report, The Morning Business learns. Speaking on the CBSL policy paper on forming the national asset management, Fitch Ratings Head Maninda Wickramasinghe expressed his optimistic point of view. “In the CBSL annual report there is a policy paper that is being discussed about a national asset management company. Adding to what is being said thus far, Wickramasinghe stated: “As recently as 2009, countries like Spain and Ireland faced a similar situation where the countries addressed this (asset management).”Pinpointing on asset management, he said that it allows the restructured debt to international capital markets which Malaysia achieved. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for Sri Lanka in terms of asset management.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
Ranjith Bandara to steer National Trade Policy
Policy to be launched before end 2021BY Cassendra DooleProf. Ranjith Bandara has been appointed as the Chairperson of the National Trade Policy Committee, The Morning Business learns. Speaking to The Morning Business, Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said that the new National Trade Policy Committee was implemented recently and discussions were held via Zoom. “Because of the current situation, we held Zoom meetings and discussed the new National Trade Policy Committee and the other relevant details. On 1 August 2017, the National Trade Policy was approved by the Cabinet of the former Government by the then Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade. In March 2021 Dr. Gunawardana said that the obtaining of public comments and opinions on the National Trade Policy was to take place.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
Breaking into the music industry
Jayson began his career in 2015, when, after watching Hardwell play at Tomorrowland, he realised that his passion lay with music. A remix of ALOKE by local singer Iraj that Jayson did went viral, again bringing his name into the forefront of the music industry. “I was playing gigs just before the last lockdown, and as things seemed like it was getting better for the music industry, it all went downhill right after the lockdown,” he said. Hithama Pire was the first Sinhalese track released by that label. He also added that the biggest lesson he learned from working on music virtually was patience.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:33 UTC
With 1,010 new COVID cases, daily count climbs to 2,938
August 9, 2021 10:50 pmThe Epidemiology Unit of the Ministry of Health reports that another 1,010 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, pushing the daily count of new cases to 2,938. This brings the tally of confirmed cases of coronavirus identified in the country to 332,947. Sri Lanka’s total recoveries stand at 295,518 while over 32,318 COVID-19 positive patients are currently being treated at hospitals. The death toll in Sri Lanka due to the virus is 5,222.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:00 UTC
London music festival is dubbed 'Britain's Fyre festival'
By Bhvishya Patel For MailonlinePublished: 13:02 EDT, 9 August 2021 | Updated: 22:53 EDT, 9 August 2021A London music festival has been slammed for being 'Britain's Fyre Festival' after half of the headline acts failed to show up and thousands of ticket-holders were left queuing in the rain for hours. The music festival, in Trent Park, north London, was advertised as 'showcasing some of the scene's most iconic figures' and fans were told it was the capital's 'first ever festival dedicated to R&B and Hip Hop culture'. In addition, headline acts Mya, Eve, Blackstreet and Tony Touch failed to turn up to the outdoor festival - leaving fans calling for refunds. And American rapper Fatman Scoop, who was set to MC the London festival, allegedly arrived onstage after 7pm. Elsewhere, music fans took to social media to share their disappointment, with one reveller calling the scenes 'a joke'.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 18:00 UTC
Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming is finally native on PCs
TL;DR Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available through the native Windows Xbox app. They must also have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Microsoft has launched its first native PC support for Xbox Cloud Gaming by way of an updated Xbox app for Windows. Microsoft is often considered to be at the forefront of cloud gaming because of its pricing model and library. Anything on Game Pass can be bought and kept separately, though Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently limited to console titles, excluding things in the Game Pass for PC library.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 17:15 UTC
‘Even Ranil got vaccine from Army’
BY Pamodi WaravitaResponding to criticism of United National Party (UNP) Leader and parliamentarian Ranil Wickremesinghe, National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Head and Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva said that even Wickremesinghe received his vaccination from the Narahenpita Army Hospital. The public must know that he also got his vaccination from the Army Hospital in Narahenpita. If he got his vaccine from the Army Hospital but is telling that it is wrong for the public to get their vaccination from Army-run centres, then the public must make a decision about that,” Gen. Silva said. “The responsibility for the control of the Covid-19 pandemic now lies with the NOCPCO, which has no capacity to deal with it. Therefore, it is not possible to give such powers to a body like the NOCPCO,” Wickremesinghe said.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 16:41 UTC
No Police to enforce vaccines, please
The fact is that there isn’t any conclusive proof that those who get vaccinated don’t end up in hospital. Creating such polarisations in society over vaccines that are not quite resistant to new variants is ludicrous. It is also not wise to argue that though vaccines don’t prevent infection that they would decrease the risk of being killed by Covid. The Delta variant morbidity rates are so low that it’s impossible to tell whether vaccine immunity prevents death or not. Even the suspicion that these types of vaccines may indeed create new variants is found to be rather ridiculous.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 16:07 UTC
Britain's daily increase in Covid cases is SPEEDING UP
Britain's Covid outbreak may be speeding up once more, according to official data that suggests the worst of the third wave may not be over. Daily cases had fallen consistently towards the end of July, sparking hopes that the UK's summer resurgence was already fizzling out. It comes as a top scientist today claimed Britain needs to stop counting daily Covid infections as the country's pandemic phase slowly fizzles out. NHS England statistics show there were 747 admissions on Wednesday, August 4, the most recent day figures are available for. Two doses of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine - the jab most commonly used in the UK - slash the risk of death from the disease by 94 per cent among the over-65s, real world data shows.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 15:33 UTC
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko brands UK 'America's lapdog'
Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko lashed out at the UK today, branding Britain 'America's lapdog' as Westminster joined Washington in imposing fresh sanctions on his regime. Asked what he thought of the new sanctions imposed by the UK and US today, he responded: 'You can choke on your sanctions in Britain! Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: 'The Lukashenko regime continues to crush democracy and violate human rights in Belarus. In power since 1994, Lukashenko has been cracking down on opponents since unprecedented protests erupted after last year's elections. In an interview with AFP on the first anniversary of a disputed presidential election in Belarus, Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said that Belarus was 'no longer a safe country for its own citizens'.
Source:The Nation
August 09, 2021 15:33 UTC