Minister Mahinda Amaraweera says that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party is not ready to leave the government and strengthen the opposition despite the problems. Mainly our SLFP groups have a problem with not treating activists as partners of the government. Different groups said different things but the party leaders did not say such a thing. We hope that the President and the Prime Minister will be one of the leaders to discuss everything,” he said. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP JC Alawatuwala said that the ministers representing the SLFP could not take a direct decision in the face of problems.

July 12, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsAnother 26,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine purchased by Sri Lanka have been brought to the island. The consignment of doses was brought to the warehouse in special lorries after being brought to the Katunayake airport this morning (12). Earlier too, Sri Lanka had received 26,000 doses of the US-made Pfizer vaccine. To date, Sri Lanka has received 8,571,000 doses of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik v and Pfizer vaccines. The Epidemiology Unit said that 5,330,492 doses have been given to individuals so far.

Sri Lanka has received another consignment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine this morning (12). Ada Derana reporter said that the consignment of vaccine doses was transported to storage in specialized lorries after reaching the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in the early hours of today. The first consignment of 26,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine purchased by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) had arrived in Sri Lanka on July 05. The SPC has ordered a total of 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine while another 60,000 doses are expected in the third week of July and 90,000 more the week after that. Sri Lanka has thus far received a total of 8,571,000 doses of Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Pfizer vaccines while 5,330,492 of them have been administered to the public.

Responding to another query, Minister Rambukwella emphasised that he didn’t do anything clandestine. “I consulted our lawyers regarding a section of the media brazenly abusing their privileged status,” the Media Minister said, urging the media not to propagate lies. Minister Ranbukwella alleged that some interested parties had reacted as if he had called in underworld elements to discuss the issue. MP Premadasa urged the government either to confirm or to deny claims as regards alleged moves to suppress Sirasa. Minister Rambukwella confirmed that the Sirasa coverage of various developments had been discussed with lawyers.

Yet the sides who travelled far — England, Italy, Denmark and Spain — often proved better than the sum of their parts. Whoever guessed that Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier would be the ones combining to put England ahead last night? There was also more football played than in the inferior 2016 tournament, with eight out of the 15 knockout games going to extra time. It was the worst time imaginable to stage a tournament in 11 cities, with fans unable to follow many countries. Christian Eriksen mercifully recovered after collapsing in Denmark's first gameEngland were lucky to have six of their seven games at Wembley.

She was seen chatting with friends outside, while former England captain Wayne soaked up the atmosphere with fan-goers. Hours earlier, Amanda was seen cheering on England as she donned nothing but a football shirt to mark the final. Amanda, 50, donned a white England shirt in a leggy snap as she made preparations to watch with her familyDuring the game, Amanda was seen cheering on England alongside her fellow Heart FM presenter Mark Wright. Naturally the game drew out former footballing stars, with Rio Ferdinand commanding attention from football fans as he arrived at Wembley. Sunday night marks the final of the Euros 2020 and will see England go head-to-head with Italy for the title.

The Women Parliamentarians Caucus has recommended that all electoral laws in Sri Lanka should be consolidated into one electoral code and should be proposed to the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral law reforms to make necessary amendments in this regard. The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus chaired by State Minister Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, in Parliament. The MPs of Women Parliamentarians Caucus also agreed to propose a uniform electoral system for all elections in Sri Lanka (local, provincial, and national levels) with a uniform quota for womens representationThe Women Parliamentarians Caucus is proposing to the Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral law reforms to introduce specific legal provisions relating to the prevention of violence in elections, and more specifically violence against women in elections. In addition, the Women Parliamentarians Caucus has recommended regulations and accountability on campaign financing to ensure equal opportunities for participation. The meeting was attended by members of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus MPs Manjula Dissanayake, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Muditha Prishanthi, Diana Gamage and Secretary to the Caucus, Deputy Secretary General of Parliament and Chief of Staff Kushani Rohanadeera.

Following the Covid-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka in March 2020, the need to further digitize the operations of the stock market to ensure uninterrupted access, increase investor participation, enhance operational efficiencies and service standards became a top priority. Since the completion of the first phase of digitalization and the launch of the Mobile Application, total app downloads exceeded 65,000 and approximately 17,000 new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts were opened via the mobile app. Moreover, 97% of the total local individual accounts opened were through the app and 84% of the total accounts opened were by those aged between 18 to 40. The app has become one of the fastest growing in Sri Lanka, reaching 21 million smartphones nation-wide. This sharp rise in retail investor participation implies that digitalization of the stock market operations has been able to reach a large section of the more technologically savvy investors.

Following the Covid-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka in March 2020, the need to further digitize the operations of the stock market to ensure uninterrupted access, increase investor participation, enhance operational efficiencies and service standards became a top priority. Since the completion of the first phase of digitalization and the launch of the Mobile Application, total app downloads exceeded 65,000 and approximately 17,000 new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts were opened via the mobile app. Moreover, 97% of the total local individual accounts opened were through the app and 84% of the total accounts opened were by those aged between 18 to 40. The app has become one of the fastest growing in Sri Lanka, reaching 21 million smartphones nation-wide. This sharp rise in retail investor participation implies that digitalization of the stock market operations has been able to reach a large section of the more technologically savvy investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) along with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) continue to drive digital advancement in Sri Lanka’s capital market with the launch of the second phase of the digitalisation of the Stock Market on 07TH July 2021 under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat. Following the Covid-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka in March 2020, the need to further digitize the operations of the stock market to ensure uninterrupted access, increase investor participation, enhance operational efficiencies and service standards became a top priority. Since the completion of the first phase of digitalization and the launch of the Mobile Application, total app downloads exceeded 65,000 and approximately 17,000 new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts were opened via the mobile app. The app has become one of the fastest growing in Sri Lanka, reaching 21 million smartphones nation-wide. This sharp rise in retail investor participation implies that digitalization of the stock market operations has been able to reach a large section of the more technologically savvy investors.

By Buddhika SamaraweeraThe Department of Meteorology has warned that very strong gusty winds up to 60-70 kmph are likely at times over the western slope of the Central hills, the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, and the Galle and Matara Districts today (12). When contacted by The Morning, Duty Meteorologist Udeni Weerasinghe said that the wind speed has by now reduced significantly compared to 9 and 10 July. According to the department, several spells of showers or thundershowers would occur in the sea areas extending from Colombo to Hambantota via Galle. The department further stated that winds would be south-westerly in the sea areas around the island and that the wind speed would be 30-40 kmph. The other sea areas around the island could also be fairly rough at times.

The University of Sri Jayewardenepura’s proposal has been selected as one of the five recipients of World Health Organisation (WHO) grants awarded for antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests for Covid-19. Therefore, the AICBU, under the leadership of Dr. Jeewandara and Prof. Neelika Malavige submitted an application with the partnership of the Ministry of Health as a collaborator. “After a competitive application process, AICBU secured funding for the Sri Lankan protocol, becoming one of the five countries selected by WHO under this scheme,” Dr. Jeewandara said. The proposed conditions and settings for Ag-RDT use are aligned with WHO interim guidance on the use of antigen detection for Covid-19 using rapid immunoassays. These simple-to-use tests offer the possibility of rapid case detection, especially of the most infectious patients, at or near the point of care.

By Pamodi WaravitaApproximately 90% of workers at Free Trade Zones (FTZs) around the country – almost 126,000 of the 132,000 eligible workers – have been provided the first dose of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine, according to the Board of Investment (BOI) Head of Zones M.K D. Lawrance. He further said that 1,600 factories outside the FTZs have also been inoculated with a Covid-19 vaccine. Of this vaccine, 2,856,147 first doses and 1,023,128 second doses have been administered to the local populace as of 10 July. Gen. Silva further said that 3,776 students have registered for the Sinopharm vaccine, of which about 1,500 had received the vaccine by 10 July. A total of 114,795 first doses and 14,464 second doses of the Sputnik-V vaccine have been administered so far.

Supplementary medical professionals threaten to return to strikeBy Dinitha RathnayakeThose employed in professions supplementary to medicine claimed that the Ministry of Health does not yet have a proper plan for the submission of the relevant Cabinet Memorandums which the Health Minister promised them during their trade union action recently. Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi agreed to provide the same relief to those employed in the professions supplementary to medicine (PSMs) which was earlier provided for nurses. A letter issued under the signature of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Asela Gunawardena on 6 July mentioned that the Health Minister had agreed to submit the relevant Cabinet paper containing the Union’s demands to the next Cabinet of Ministers meeting today (12). We apologise for the inconvenience.”PSMs have called off their strike action following talks with the Health Minister on 6 July stating: “We temporarily suspended our strike action until 12 July. However, we would launch our strike if the Health Minister is unable to bring our demands to the Cabinet.”These trade unions represented laboratory technicians, radiologists, and pharmacists as well as public health inspectors.

It helps exercise other rights; freedom of expression and influence public policies, she said further. It helps exercise other rights; freedom of expression & influence public policies. Vital that restrictions imposed as measures against the pandemic don’t go beyond the legitimate protection of #PublicHealth.”Right of assembly includes the right to hold peaceful demonstrations. It helps exercise other rights; freedom of expression & influence public policies. Vital that restrictions imposed as measures against the pandemic don't go beyond the legitimate protection of #PublicHealth.