Dozens dead and missing after torrential rain triggered flooding in Europe
An 82-year-old man also died after falling in his flooded basement in the city of Wuppertal, which was among the hardest-hit. Six houses collapsed overnight in the village of Schuld and 'many people have been reported missing to us,' police said. Police said an 82-year-old man died after a fall in his flooded basement in the western city of Wuppertal, which was among the hardest-hit. Relentless rain through the night also worsened the flooding conditions in eastern Belgium, where one person was reported drowned. An unknown number of houses in the southern province of Limburg were hit by flooding as rivers burst their banks.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 07:52 UTC
ISWA offers Australian Advanced Level for the First Time in Sri Lanka
International School of Western Australia (ISWA) an extension of International Institute of Health Sciences (IIHS), is Sri Lanka’s first-ever Institute to offer the Australian Advanced Level programme. ISWA gears students to not only obtain an Australian secondary educational qualification but also grooms them for their Australian journey. At ISWA, students are prepared for their life in Australia through an exclusive Australian Cultural Orientation online course which is conducted free of cost upon the completion of registration. ISWA offers the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) which is a two-year program covering Year 11 and 12 where students sit for the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) examination at the end of Year 12. The parent organisation IIHS recently appointed longstanding international education industry figure, Australian, Mr. Carl Jones to its board.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 06:00 UTC
Basil meets diplomatic community in Sri Lanka
Members of the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka called on new Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa yesterday (14), the Finance Ministry said. The Indian High Commissioner called on Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and handed over a letter from India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman conveying her felicitations. The Chinese Ambassador has assured Sri Lanka will continue to receive COVID vaccines and will also connect top-tier investors in Sri Lanka to the Hambantota Economic Zone. The German Ambassador in his meeting with the Finance Minister has assured support to upgrade facilities of German Technical Colleges in Sri Lanka and direct investors towards small and medium industries. According to a Finance Ministry statement, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka has discussed the possibility of investments in the LNG energy sector in the island nation.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 05:15 UTC
Teachers’ Union strike continues today, online classes halted
July 15, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsThe strike launched by the teachers’ unions to withdraw from online teaching continues today (15). The teachers’ unions say the government’s failure to respond to their demands has led to the strike continuing. The strike has been launched by 14 trade unions, including the Ceylon Teachers Union and the Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union, against the arrest and forcible quarantine of protesting union leaders. As a result, online education of some students has come to a complete standstill even today.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 05:15 UTC
First anniversary of envoys presenting credentials online
8 July 2021 marks the first anniversary of such a story from India. The pandemic forced the world to adapt to the new-normal in both professional as well as personal spheres. The first such ceremony in India was held on 8 July 2020 when President of India Ram Nath Kovind received the credentials of newly appointed envoys from the UK, New Zealand, and Uzbekistan. Seven more such ceremonies have been held in India since then, with the latest one being held before the first anniversary of virtual presentation of credentials in India. have presented their credentials through virtual mode till date.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 05:15 UTC
Vaccination record in a single day increases
The highest number of vaccines given in a single day under the country’s Covid vaccination program was given yesterday (14). Accordingly 384,763 doses have been given to the public yesterday. The first dose of Sinopharm was administered to 338,572 individuals, the second dose of Sinopharm was administered to 35,410 individuals, the first dose of Pfizer was administered to 7,416 individuals, and the Sputnik V vaccine was administered in 3,365 doses. Meanwhile, police have arrested 190 people in the past 24 hours for violating quarantine rules. Accordingly, 50,027 persons have been arrested for violating the rules from October 30 to date.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 04:30 UTC
Another area released from isolation orders
July 15, 2021 07:25 amThe isolation orders on another locality have been lifted with effect from 6.00 am today (July 15), says the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 (NOCPCO). Thereby, Mamangam area in Manmunai police area of Batticaloa District will no longer be isolated.
Source:The Nation
July 15, 2021 02:03 UTC
Thilak De Silva Column: SRI LANKA TROUNCED BY ENGLAND
The publisher of the brochure was the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri LankaThe history of the Sri Lanka national cricket team began with the formation of the Colombo Cricket Club in 1832. By the 1880s a national team, the Ceylon national cricket team, was formed which began playing first-class cricket by the 1920s. After Sri Lanka awarded Test status on 21 July 1981 as eighth Test playing nation, Sri Lanka had to wait until 6 September 1985, where Sri Lanka recorded their first Test win by beating India, in the second match of the series by 149 runs at the P. Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo. Sri Lanka registered their first ODI win against India at Manchester, England, on 16 June 1979. The Indian second-string squad is already in Sri Lanka and the Lankans are going to have a tough time ahead.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 22:18 UTC
On This Day – 15 July
1850 – John Wisden bowled out all ten batsmen in the second innings of the match between North and South at Lord’s. It’s the only instance of an all-bowled ten-for in a first-class match. He had already made a five-hour 244 on the first day, including a century before lunch. He was a leading wicket-taker during his domestic career which spanned from 1994-2019, playing mainly for Colts CC. Violence erupted outside of the ring of Kota Lama Sport Stadium in the town of Nabire is only set to hold 1,000 spectators.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 21:11 UTC
STEPHEN GLOVER: Response to those vile attacks on footballers that proves UK is NOT a racist cesspit
It clearly exists, as dozens of black footballers who are periodically abused by bigoted fans can attest. Twitter says it has deleted more than 1,000 racist tweets since the match. Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that 5,000 racist tweets were circulated. It's not only that the racist tweets are the work of a deranged fraction of a minority, as I have argued. The truth is that there are no significant philosophical differences between Priti Patel and England footballers such as Tyrone Mings.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 21:00 UTC
MeToo, WeToo, and TheyToo
Victims often come out of their trauma after some or many years because they want closure, healing, comfort, support, and justice. Will MeToo express solidarity with them too and reach out? All of us have now grown up in a culture that also promotes assault and harassment through movies, music, and advertisements. Employers must implement training programmes to educate employees about what a fair workplace should be like for men and women. And in turn, could this unfairly set back the gains made by women in the fight for gender equality in the workplace and social justice in general?
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 20:00 UTC
IFC and FCCISL to promote increased work-life balance
Over 40 Sri Lankan businesses participated in the first in a series of online learning sessions by the “Together We Can” partnership – launched under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work programme. The partnership is aimed at promoting gender-smart policies among Sri Lankan businesses, with a particular focus on helping mitigate Covid-19 impacts. According to IFC research conducted among 15 leading Sri Lankan companies, female employees were twice as likely to report increased household or care responsibilities due to Covid-19. Covid-19 has shown us that family-friendly policies are not just ‘nice-to-haves’ but ‘must-haves’,” said IFC Acting Country Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Victor Antonypillai. “FCCISL is excited to join IFC in launching ‘Together We Can’ to revitalise the gender balance in the private sector workforce,” said FCCISL President Shirley Jayawardena.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 19:52 UTC
Keeping style on point through the third wave and beyond
Brunch reached out to a few of these businesses for their perspective on the third wave. KYND Fashion Truck Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder Saranga Dissanayake explained that KYND’s physical fashion truck (KYND Fashion Truck operates its pop-ups out of a specially designed truck on the weekends at One Galle Face) was not able to be used for the duration of the travel restriction period. Customers’ responses to the third waveBinu from TDC shared that for the TDC client, the trends from the first to third lockdowns were very different. Now that the third wave (or rather the third lockdown) is mostly in the past, how are these companies planning to move forward? Saranga shared that KYND Fashion Truck has lots of plans to expand their ranges and brand.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 19:52 UTC
‘Chinese companies to generate renewable power’
20 of 2009, to allow foreign companies – most likely to be certain Chinese companies – to generate electricity using renewable energy. When contacted by The Morning, CEWU General Secretary Ranjan Jayalal claimed that there are plans to amend several sections of the said Act to enable foreign companies to obtain licenses to generate electricity using solar and wind power. He further alleged that the CEWU has received information that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is preparing to purchase the electricity that would be generated by such foreign companies at Rs. Attempts to contact State Minister Dissanayake and Solar Power, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development State Ministry Secretary D.K. However, when contacted, Power Ministry Secretary Wasantha Perera denied the allegations made by the CEWU.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 19:52 UTC
Govt. realising IMF is the solution: Harsha
Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Dr. Harsha de Silva has claimed that Government insiders are now considering engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite repeatedly ruling out the possibility of an IMF programme earlier. De Silva has been continuously stating that Sri Lanka is facing a balance of payments crisis, underscoring that the repayment of Sri Lanka’s debts is a serious matter that needs to be resolved. He also claimed that despite the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) stating that the value of the dollar is around Rs. However, de Silva said that it is not too late to save Sri Lanka from a balance of payments crisis, provided that immediate action is taken. To keep the adjustment costs within a manageable level, we must deal with issues prudently and professionally,” he concluded.
Source:The Nation
July 14, 2021 19:52 UTC