ODI defeat against India: Skipper Shanaka defends cricketers
What really happened after Tuesday’s crucial three-wicket defeat for Sri Lanka in the second ODI against India at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo:* Why Sandakan was over-bowled at crucial time? The characters here are Sri Lanka white-ball Captain DasunShanaka (on left) and Sri Lanka Head Coach Mickey ArthurSri Lanka Head Coach was apparently swearing, uttering the four-letter word soon after Chahar hit the winning four on Tuesday night. India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Tuesday (20) at Khettarama, Colombo to seal the three-match ODI series. Fate of Mickey Arthur’s Sri Lanka stintArthur’s behaviour is unprofessional to the least and is a disgrace to a national team. The crux of the matter here is that Arthur’s two-year tenure with the Sri Lanka national team is coming to a painful and unforgettable end.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 18:00 UTC
Massive protest in Colombo yesterday: Prez to meet teachers before 30th
Peiris, according to the teachers’ trade unions, is to submit a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers on 26 July regarding the teachers’ issues, and in order to discuss the said proposal, a meeting will be held between Prof. Peiris and the teachers’ trade unions on 27 July. Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe, speaking to the media after the discussion, said that Prof. Peiris had also joined the discussion over the phone. In addition, Prof. Peiris has agreed to hold a discussion with the representatives of the teachers’ trade unions at 11 a.m. on 27 July to discuss the relevant proposal. He therefore added that all trade union actions initiated by them, including the withdrawal from online teaching activities, which continued for the 11th day yesterday, would continue until a definite solution is provided. Therefore, he also insisted that they would continue the ongoing trade union actions until a definite solution is found.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 18:00 UTC
1 m AstraZeneca doses next week
BY Buddhika SamaraweeraApproximately one million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are currently being manufactured in Japan and are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka within the course of next week, according to the Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals State Ministry. However, it had been decided to halt the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, effective from 8 July. Rathnayake said: “Our portion of the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently being manufactured in Japan. The Oxford AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine, manufactured in India by the Serum Institute, was the first Covid-19 vaccine administered in Sri Lanka in late January of this year. About 600,000 persons who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine in the country are yet to be given their second dose.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 17:48 UTC
Asymptomatic home treatment still under discussion
BY Pamodi WaravitaAlthough the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) requested the Government this week to consider home treatment for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, the National Operations Centre for the Prevention of the Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) Task Force Head Gen. Shavendra Silva told The Morning that discussions are still underway regarding the matter. “Although the pilot project on home treatment for asymptomatic patients was implemented in Kalutara, it did not work out exactly the way we intended it to. The GMOA pointed out that the home treatment pilot project, which began in the Kalutara District in May this year, should be expanded to cover the country to ease the burden on the health sector. The Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) predicted that the highly contagious Delta strain would spread within two to four weeks throughout the country. A total of 1,128 new Covid-19 cases were reported as of yesterday (22) evening.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 17:48 UTC
The PTA eyewash
48 of 1979 (PTA), has said that it disagrees with the calls to repeal the PTA. Nawaz, with a former Inspector General of Police within its membership – has realised the gravity of the human rights-related issues that certain provisions of the PTA have caused, as the interim report apparently fails to address the most dangerous provisions of the PTA. The PTA has also been discussed at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on many occasions, as an abusive law that violates human rights. The PTA had been enacted with a two-thirds majority, and accordingly, in terms of Article 84, the PTA became law despite any inconsistency with the Constitution. However, like any other law, the PTA should be amended to address its shortcomings, and to be timely.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 17:37 UTC
Coronavirus- daily cases count climbs to 1,714
July 22, 2021 11:16 pmThe Ministry of Health says that another 586 persons have tested positive for the novel coronavirus today, increasing the daily count of Covid-19 cases to 1,714. This brings the tally of Covid-19 positive cases confirmed in Sri Lanka to 291,298. 22,646 infected patients are currently under medical care while total recoveries stand at 264,755.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 17:37 UTC
Internet is hit by problems as ITV, Skybet, BA and Barclays customers report online outages
Meanwhile major banks including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, TSB, Tesco Bank, and the Bank of Scotland were beset by issues. The mass outage comes just a month after some of Australia's major websites - including from various media outlets - crashed. Those problems hit The Age and The Guardian along with other sites such as Nine, which were returning an 'Error 503 service unavailable' message. Major content delivery network Akamai, which provides domain name system services, says it is experiencing problems and appeared to shoulder the blame tonight. Akamai is a major content delivery network (CDN) firm that facilitates internet services for other companies.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 16:52 UTC
Manchester United's Andreas Pereira talks up permanent Old Trafford exit
Pereira, who made 33 appearances across all competitions for Lazio last season, is now looking for a way to stay in Rome. Andreas Pereira (left) is said to be growing tired of limited opportunities at Manchester United'I'd like to go back to the Biancoceleste [Lazio] if I was given more time. Rome could be my definitive home, I had a great time,' Pereira told Gianluca Di Marzio. I think my performance could be better if I had more minutes and more freedom to play. 'I hope next season will be the best of my life, I'm working towards it,' Pereira added.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 16:07 UTC
First High Commissioner of New Zealand to Sri Lanka presents credentials
The Government of New Zealand with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka has appointed Mr. Michael Edward Appleton as the first High Commissioner of New Zealand to Sri Lanka based in Colombo. He presented credentials to President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday (22 July) at the President’s House, Colombo 01. Until today, the New Zealand High Commission based in India has been coordinating Sri Lankan affairs. Mr Michael Edward Appleton said he was pleased to be the first High Commissioner to the newly established New Zealand High Commission in Sri Lanka, further expanding diplomatic relations between the two countries. President Rajapaksa commended Cuba for its support to Sri Lanka at the United Nations General Assembly.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 13:52 UTC
French warship escorts migrant boat into UK waters
In one incident, Border Force apprehended 15 people who had landed at Dungeness beach in Kent. People-smugglers made use of the continuing good weather today, with 35 migrants arriving on two Border Force boats before 10am. Four men who appeared to be North African were brought in to harbour on a small Border Force rhib. Border Force cutter Speedwell was docked in the harbour, as was the RNLI's Daniel L Gibson lifeboat. He handed the sleeping infant to a Border Force officer wearing a white boiler suit before disembarking with his partner.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 13:52 UTC
Pictured: Stuntman stabbed to death while filming Brixton music video
The stuntman hired to perform stunts for a rap video with Lamborghini sports cars who was stabbed outside Brixton Tube station by so-called 'jealous haters' last night has been pictured. It was a music video about Brixton which mentions the market so that's why they had decided to shoot it here. Pictured: Forensics at the sceneA man has died after being stabbed to death in an attack outside Brixton tube station in south London. A Met Police spokesman said: 'An investigation is underway after a man died following a stabbing in Brixton. Police were called at 8.18pm on Wednesday to reports of an assault close to Brixton Underground Station.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 12:56 UTC
COVID caseload moves up by 1,128 new infections
July 22, 2021 06:35 pmAs many as 1,128 persons have tested positive for coronavirus today (July 22), says the Ministry of Health. All new cases are associated with the New Year COVID-19 cluster. This brings the total number of infections confirmed in the country thus far to 290,705. According to official data, more than 22,000 infected patients are currently under medical care at hospitals and treatment centers across the island. Meanwhile, the number of total recoveries has reached 264,755.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 12:56 UTC
Factory illegally manufacturing sachet packets raided by CEA
The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) today (22) raided a factory in the Jaburaliya area in Madapatha in the Kesbewa Divisional Secretariat, which was manufacturing sachet packets illegally. The Authority had strongly advised them to remove all sachet packets released to the market as soon as possible. The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has launched a special operation to prevent such illegal activities by conducting similar raids in the future as well. Sachet packets, except for use in food and medicine packaging, with net volume less than 20 ml or net weight of less than 20 g as per Gazette Notification No. 2211/51 dated 21st January 2021 2021 has been prohibited with effect from the 31st January.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 12:07 UTC
Visa-approved migrant hopefuls to receive Pfizer shots
A special program will be implemented to administer the Pfizer vaccine for persons who have received visa approval for foreign employment, Minister of Labour Nimal Siripala de Silva said. Nearly 8,000 migrant hopefuls who have received work permits and visa for 15 countries are yet to be vaccinated with a vaccine approved by destination countries, the Minister said. Minister de Silva had mentioned this at a discussion held with officials of the Ministry of Health including the Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi. However, these countries have only allowed persons who have received the US-manufactured Pfizer vaccine to enter the country. Accordingly, the Health Minister and officials have agreed to administer the relevant migrant workers with the Pfizer vaccine.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 12:00 UTC
Daily Authority: Robotaxi debate, Nord 2 today, and more
There’s a spicy feature in the FT ($) today diving into the autonomous/self-driving vehicle arena. The piece highlights the quiet progression of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Instead, it’s the ADAS players that might be winning by adding smaller breakthroughs for smaller elements at a time. Tesla’s AutoPilot System is a Level 2 system. Level 3 systems allow drivers to take their eyes off the road, and liability is implied for the car manufacturer, not the driver.
Source:The Nation
July 22, 2021 12:00 UTC