A special discussion was held today (July 26) between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The meeting took place at the Presidential Secretariat this morning. The meeting was based on a written request made to the President by the party. Prior to the meeting, the representatives of SLFP joined a meeting held with the party chairman former President Maithripala Sirisena at his official residence in Mahagamasekera Mawatha. Following the meeting with President Rajapaksa, Senior Vice President of SLFP Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told journalists that the meeting was a success.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Army Commander General Shavendra Silva urged all residents in the Western Province to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. Speaking to News 1st on Monday (26), the Army Commander said despite efforts to inoculate the eligible population with the COVID-19 vaccine, some people are yet to receive the jab, especially in the Western province. Whilst noting that a COVID-19 vaccination centre has been set up at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo to conduct the vaccination drive, the Army Commander requested the people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, since vaccination against the virus is crucial. General Shavendra Silva further requested people to ensure that health guidelines are followed, until both vaccines are received. The Army Commander said those aged above 60-years who cannot visit vaccination centres to receive their vaccines, could be inoculated at home by informing the respective Medical Officer of Health.

He arrived as a teenage sensation and now finally, as a dad, gets his hands on a gold medal. Olympic Diving Results - Men's Synchronised 10m Platform Final 1. Along with Pete Waterfield he missed out on an Olympic medal in the synchronised 10m platform event after coming fourth. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Daley won a silver medal in the men's synchronised 10m platform with partner James Denny. Then today, Daley and Lee held their nerve with a flawless performance at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre to claim Olympic gold in the synchronised 10m platform.

Alex Yee began the medal flurry as he began his first ever Olympic medal, claiming silver in the men's triathlon. British swimmer Adam Peaty then made Olympic history by winning gold for the second time, before Tom Daley finally won his first Olympic gold alongside Matty Lee in the men's synchronised 10m platform. Tom Pidcock then capped off the day by winning gold in men's mountain bike cross-country cycling. He remains unbeaten over 100m at breaststroke for the last seven years – which include his gold medal at Rio 2016. Pidcock secured Team GB's third gold medal in a matter of hours after victory in the men's mountain bike cross-country event.

A total of 1,666 people infected with the Covid-19 virus were identified yesterday (25). Of the 1,666 infected people identified yesterday, 1,656 belong to the New Year’s Covid cluster. The highest number of daily Covid-19 infections in the country was reported from the Colombo district yesterday (25). Accordingly, the total number of Covid-19 infections in the country has increased to 296,516. With another 45 Covid deaths being reported, the total number of Covid deaths in the country has risen to 4,099.

Health authorities have concluded that there are infections of the Delta variant of coronavirus in every district in Sri Lanka. According to Deputy Director-General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath, there is an average percentage of Delta variant infected people in each district. He said, “The figure 68 Delta variant infections came from a selected number of samples. A possible percentage of 1,666 patients reported yesterday can be of the Delta variant. He requested the public to reduce the number of infections and avoid creating Delta variant clusters.

Their middle-over woes in the T20s continued: 6th over-2 runs, 7th-4, 8th-2, 9th-3, and 10th-9 runs. Indo inningsEarlier Sri Lankan bowlers, particularly Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga, did well to restrict the Indian batting line-up to a modest 164. Hasaranga scalped Samson in his very first ball deceiving him in front of the wicket. SCORECARDIndiaPrithvi Shaw c Bhanuka b Chameera 0Shikhar Dhawan (Capt.) c Bandara b Karunaratne 46Sanju Samson (wk) lbw b Hasaranga 27Suryakumar Yadav c sub (R. Mendis) b Hasaranga 50Hardik Pandya c Bhanuka b Chameera 10Ishan Kishan not out 20Krunal Pandya not out 3Extras (lb 2, w 6) 8Total (for 5 wkts.

It was revealed at a discussion held at the Ministry of Environment that the amount of empty plastic yoghurt cups thrown into the environment after use in the country is between 96-100 tons annually. Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera held a discussion with several companies that currently recycle yoghurt cups on the steps to be taken for the proper recycling of yoghurt cups last week. It was also revealed that about 45 million cups of yoghurt and similar plastic cups are added to the environment every month. Therefore, the use of plastic cups for yogurt cups will not be prohibited and the use of plastic spoons for eating them will be prohibited. According to the cabinet paper, it is proposed to ban plastic spoons, forks, plastic cups, food stirrers etc.

The veteran upset Poland's 28th seed Li Qian in a six-game struggle on Monday, winning 11-7 11-6 5-11 10-12 11-4 11-4. Australian mother-of-two Jian Fang Lay has marched into the third round of the table tennisFang Lay is one win away from setting a new benchmark for her best-ever Games, having already equalled a third-round effort at Rio de Janeiro. Fang Lay was only added to Australia's Olympic contingent in late June as a replacement for Stephanie Sang, who withdrew for personal reasons. Fang Lay moved to Melbourne in 1994, competed at her first Australian national championships in 1995 then made her Olympic debut in Sydney 2000. Powell, who went down 11-4 11-4 11-3 11-3 in 29 minutes, will return to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for Sunday's men's team event.

July 26, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsPolice have arrested 151 persons for violating the quarantine rules yesterday (25). Police Media Spokesman, Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stated that a total of 52,154 persons have been arrested so far for violating the quarantine rules. The Police Media Spokesman further stated that more than 100 persons who had violated the provincial travel restrictions had been identified yesterday as well. Ajith Rohana said that people traveling on public transport should always follow the health instructions and work safely.

July 26, 2021 09:42 amAnother consignment of COVID-19 vaccines has arrived in Sri Lanka early this morning (July 26). Reportedly, a stock of Pfizer, the US-manufactured vaccine, has arrived in this manner. According to Ada Derana correspondent, the Qatar Airways flight carrying the vaccines landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at around 2.30 am today. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side).

July 26, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsAnother consignment of 90,000 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Sri Lanka today, State Minister of Pharmaceuticals Prof Channa Jayasumana said. A stock of 70,200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Sri Lanka last week. A batch of 26,000 doses of the vaccine purchased by the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) of Sri Lanka arrived on 12th July. On 5th July, the first consignment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived in Sri Lanka.

For the Covid-19 pathology test, the MBS sets a $42.50 rebate for public providers and $85.00 rebate for private providers. The Australian Government has paid abound $760 million for MBS funded COVID-19 pathology tests. In NSW, which recorded 145 new cases of the virus on Monday, 98,000 Covid tests were conducted as of 8pm Sunday. PCR tests, which require pathology testing inside a laboratory, remain the only tests available to the general public. 'The government and public and private pathology laboratories have successfully worked together on delivering Covid-19 pathology testing throughout the pandemic.'

The Russian president told a navy day parade in St Petersburg: 'We are capable of detecting any underwater, above-water, airborne enemy and, if required, carry out an unpreventable strike.' It comes as military officials announced tests of advanced new weapons – some of which come from an arsenal Mr Putin has described as 'invincible'. Putin said Russia had secured its place among the world's leading naval powers, including by developing 'the latest hypersonic precision weapons still unrivalled in the world'. Russia was marking the 325th anniversary of the founding of its navy with ship parades at major ports on Sunday. Putin attended the main parade of more than 50 vessels in St. Petersburg, which included ships from the navies of Iran, Pakistan and India.

By Daily Mail ReporterPublished: 20:17 EDT, 25 July 2021 | Updated: 20:58 EDT, 25 July 2021An area of Wales famed for its slate industry is bidding to become Britain’s next Unesco world heritage site. Snowdonia’s quarries are said to have ‘roofed the 19th century world’, including Copenhagen city hall and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The slate landscape is up against bids from Bologna, Nice and the Ribeira Sacra wine district of Spain. Liverpool was stripped of world heritage status last week due to developments along its waterfront. Picturesque quarries in Snowdonia, Wales, which could become a Unesco World Heritage siteThe quarries (pictured), which 'roofed the world' in the 19th century, have competition Bologna, Nice and the Ribeira Sacra wine district in SpainBacking the Welsh bid, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the region as ‘an area of remarkable uniqueness and breath-taking beauty’.