700,000+ AstraZeneca doses to arrive in Sri Lanka on Saturday (31).
COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka is to receive 728,460 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Japan under the COVAX facility on Saturday (31). The Government of Japan decided to provide 1.47 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Japan to Sri Lanka through the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization (WHO) to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will receive half of this amount, which is 728,460 doses on Saturday (30) due to the difficulty in arranging flights. Approximately 540,000 Sri Lankans are awaiting the 02nd dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and 526,000 of them are from the Colombo and Gampaha Districts. The new batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will be used as the second dose for those who already received the first dose while the remainder will be used in the vaccination drive in the Kegalle District.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 13:52 UTC
Sri Lanka surpasses 300,000 total coronavirus cases
July 28, 2021 06:39 pmSri Lanka has now surpassed 300,000 total cases of COVID-19 as more than 1,300 new infections were logged in the country so far today. The Ministry of Health confirmed that 1,380 cases of Coronavirus have been reported today (28). This has pushed the tally of confirmed cases of the virus in the country to 301,272.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 13:30 UTC
Three Sri Lankans among Prestigious Diana Award Winners
2021 Jul 28Young peace advocates Janith Prabashwara Perera, Anojitha Sivaskaran and Yasara Ramanayake from Sri Lanka are amongst the winners of the prestigious Diana Award this year – awarded at a virtual ceremony held on Monday, the 28th of June. THEIR WORKJanith is currently a youth peace activist, educator and researcher. She is currently a Project Officer at the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka and a volunteer at Interfaith Colombo. Yasara considers a lack of understanding of different cultures to be the main threat to peace in Sri Lanka. What do you think would really improve the status quo here in Sri Lanka?
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 12:56 UTC
Discussion on mechanism to aid investors, held
COLOMBO (News 1st); A special discussion on formulating a mechanism for promotion of sectors that have been identified to have national importance was held at the Ministry of Finance today (28). The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa, who emphasized on the importance of identifying sectors that can draw investors and improving the sectors that have investments to aid the above mechanism, and also spoke about the necessity of a promotional framework to keep local and foreign investors informed about the said mechanism. It was also discussed during the meeting that a coordinating system needs to be implemented between State institutions for the purpose of assisting investors to perform their duties more efficiently. Several persons, including represantatives of investors, State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, S.R. Atygalle were present at the meeting.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 12:56 UTC
Over 417 kg of Kerala Cannabis seized by Navy
Sri Lanka Navy took hold of over 417 kg of Kerala cannabis, during a special operation, conducted in the sea area extending from Madagal to Point Pedro, Jaffna in the dark hours of yesterday (July 27). The operation also made way to apprehend 03 suspects and a dinghy used for this racket, Sri Lanka Navy said. This made Inshore Patrol Craft P 177 chase after the suspicious dinghy, ultimately intercepting it with 03 suspects aboard. The street value of the apprehended stock of Kerala cannabis is believed to be over Rs. The suspects along with the stock of Kerala cannabis and dinghy will be handed over to the Ilawalei Police for onward legal action, the Navy said.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 12:11 UTC
Sampath Bank Introduces a Helpline for Business Startup Advisory Services
~ Offers Much Needed Guidance and Support to Sri Lanka’s Startups and Prospective Entrepreneurs under ‘Sampath Saviya’ Entrepreneurship Development Programme ~Colombo July 28, 2021: Sampath Bank PLC announced the launch of a helpline for Business Start-up Advisory Services under its flagship entrepreneurship development programme, ‘Sampath Saviya,’ recently. Playing an advisory role, Sampath Bank will be offering much needed guidance and support to help start-ups establish their businesses and commence operations. Further they provide information to connect with the institutions which assist business start-ups, build relationships with the Bank and the learning programmes on business development. The ‘Sampath Saviya’ Entrepreneurship Development programme has been one of the key pillars of our efforts in this regard,” said Thusitha Nakandala, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Sampath Bank PLC. Sampath Bank is a 100% local bank that has deeply rooted itself in the lives of the people of Sri Lanka.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 11:48 UTC
CID wasted my time: Harin Fernando
By Aazam AmeenAfter Parliamentarian Harin Fernando left the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today (28) following the recording of a nearly five hour long statement regarding his comments over the Easter Attacks, he told The Morning that today’s exercise was a “waste” of his time. Elaborating further, Fernando said that today’s round of questioning was no different to that of what he has gone through previously. Additionally, Fernando stated that if Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara has an issue over the statements made by him, Fernando invites him for an open debate. He further alleged that the Easter Attacks was more than a terrorist attack, as he referred to it as a “clear murder of people”. Fernando had arrived at the CID this morning accompanied by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, SJB general secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara and several other party members.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 11:37 UTC
Singer launches all-in-one Interactive Flat Panel Smartboards
Singer currently showcases a range of Smartboards from world’s leading technology solutions providers such as Singer & Skyworth. These Smartboards are designed as all-in-one solutions that integrate the features of a Computer, TV, Projector and a whiteboard. Now you can discover a range of high quality Smartboards from Singer engineered to support remote learning, video conferences and business meetings. In addition, Singer has been designated to supply Smartboards for many educational institutes and CSR projects. Singer’s Smartboard range can be explored by visiting the Singer website www.singer.lk and for more details of the products, contact Singer customer care center via 011 5 400 400.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 11:26 UTC
Realme Flash coming on August 3
Earlier this week we brought you exclusive first look at Realme Flash – the brand’s upcoming phone with magnetic wireless charging. Now Realme has confirmed a Magnetic Innovation Event set for next Tuesday, August 3 where we’ll see the debut of the phone and its magnetic wireless charging solution. — realme TechLife (@realmeTechLife) July 28, 2021The event poster suggests a starting time of 5:30PM IST (12PM UTC) and as usual, we can expect the keynote to be live-streamed on YouTube. We’ll likely see at least two MagDart chargers at the event and Realme is teasing more product launches so stay tuned.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 10:52 UTC
8 Best Forex Trading Courses In 2021
Massively experienced, he’s been trading since 2003 and established Forex Trading Coach in 2008 after landing a trading strategy that made trading forex extremely profitable for him. Characteristics of the Best Forex Trading CourseSeveral online forex trading courses all claim ownership of the title of best. If you want to become a serious forex trader, however, you’ll probably need to subscribe to at least one of the best online forex trading courses available. A: For people who are patient, disciplined, and knowledgeable, and who want to make a career out of trading forex, forex trading is a great way to make extra money while working from home. We’ve examined eight of our favorite forex trading courses and, after reviewing their strengths and weaknesses, established Asia Forex Mentor as the overall best forex trading course available.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 10:52 UTC
Seatbelt shirkers face points on their licence
The proportion of drivers and passengers who died while not wearing a seatbelt increased from 19 per cent in 2013 to 23 per cent in 2019. 'The £100 fine does not emphasise to drivers the seriousness of the risk.' Currently a licence-holder can be given a £100 fine for the offence, with this increasing to £500 if taken to court. The parliamentary advisory council for transport safety (Pacts)was set up by the MPs and peers involved in the seat belt campaign four decades ago. The £100 fine does not emphasise to drivers the seriousness of the risk.'
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 10:52 UTC
Ministry to take steps to procure oxygen
Although the need for oxygen in the treatment of Covid infections has increased lately, the Ministry of Health has made plans to provide the required oxygen reserves. Dr. Hemantha Herath, Media Spokesperson of the Ministry of Health stated today (28) that there is no shortage of oxygen in the country. Although the number of patients reported so far is higher than the number of patients reported to us, using extracellular oxygen, if needed, as well as industrially produced oxygen, as well as the method of obtaining oxygen from the normal atmosphere through an oxygen concentrator will take place. All the necessary programs have been put in place to provide patients with the oxygen they need. We have no shortage of oxygen at the moment,” he said.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 09:56 UTC
Sri Lanka always honors its obligations, tweets President
COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka always honors its obligations, tweeted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday (28) noting that his government paid $1 Billion to International Sovereign Bonds on Tuesday (27). “We are committed to taking the country forward & creating a strong economy for Sri Lankans, while battling through the pandemic,” he tweeted. He added that the bond was settled without causing an impact on Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves, by managing the country’s cashflows intelligently. “At one point, foreign reserves had depleted to 1.2 Billion USD. But, we were able to handle a war, manage our cashflows and retain our foreign reserves,” Rambukwella noted.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 09:45 UTC
Seven sections of Finance Bill to be amended
Seven further amendments are to be made to the government’s Financial Amendment Bill, the Supreme Court was informed today (28). Senior State Counsel Nirmalan Wigneswaran, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, informed the matter to the court when the petitions challenging the Bill were heard today. Accordingly, the relevant details pertaining to the seven amendments have been submitted before the court. The relevant petitions were taken up before the Supreme Court Judges Priyantha Jayawardena, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Shiran Gunaratne. Several parties including the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Samagi Jana Balawegaya, and the United National Party have filed petitions challenging the government’s Financial Amendment Bill.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 08:09 UTC
Ranil compares SL’s current situ to Afghanistan
Former Prime Minister and Leader of the United National Party (UNP) Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka has fallen and its situation can be compared to that of Afghanistan. Commenting on the current political situation, Wickremesinghe added that the people are fed up with “racist and religious politics”. We don’t have foreign exchange today to get vaccinated. Not everyone over 18 can be vaccinated today. The first thing we have to do is get foreign exchange.
Source:The Nation
July 28, 2021 06:45 UTC