UNICEF today handed over a consignment of critical equipment to the Ministry of Health, to support the government’s response to the COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka. The supplies include essential intensive care unit equipment such as ventilators, nebulizers, multipara monitors, and pulse oximeters. The equipment was handed to Lakshmi Somatunga, the Additional Secretary for Public health Services, representing the Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi by Christian Skoog, UNICEF Representative to Sri Lanka, and David McKinnon, the Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. This kind of collaboration, before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that by working together, we can save lives and help improve services to respond to urgent needs”. Speaking during the handover, Mr Skoog said, “Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has supported the efforts of the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that critical healthcare is provided, especially to the most vulnerable, including women and children”.

The COPE Committee has directed the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to submit a report on recruitment within a month, including overstaffing. Meanwhile, it was revealed at the COPE Committee that Rs. 583 million had been paid for the 3700 trained officers recruited to the National Housing Development Authority during the period 2017-2019. The National Housing Development Authority informed the Committee that legal action would be taken to reclaim the land. The committee meeting was convened to examine the current performance of the National Housing Development Authority.

A discussion was held this morning, chaired by Justice Minister Ali Sabry, with regard to seeking compensation for the damage caused by the fire onboard the ‘X-Press Pearl’ containership. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunwardena, State Minister Kanchana Wijesekara, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and other officials. The discussion focused on Sri Lanka seeking compensation from the operator of the ill-fated feeder for the environmental damages caused by the ship’s sinking. Meanwhile State Minister Kanchana Wijesekara says that compensation for fishermen effected by X-Press Pearl disaster will be deposited to their bank accounts from today (12). The chemical-laden feeder containership X-Press Pearl sank on June 2 and touched the sea bottom off Colombo Port in Sri Lanka after burning for almost two weeks.

July 12, 2021 03:12 pmThe Ministry of Health reported that another 1,804 coronavirus patients have been discharged after completing their recovery, within the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of Covid-19 recoveries in the country to 246,241. Sri Lanka has reported a total of 274,538 positive cases of Covid-19 so far while 24,795 infected patients are currently under medical care.

An oil spill occurred at the Hambantota Port at approximately 6pm on Sunday, 11th of July 2021, the port said in a statement today. The incident occurred whilst a bunkering barge was refueling a commercial vessel that had called at the port. Immediate action was initiated by the port as per the Standard Operational Policy and Emergency Response Plan to contain and clean the pollutant with booms laid to curb the spread. “We immediately informed the Marine Environment Protection Authority(MEPA) and the Harbour Master as per our emergency response plan, and we hope to complete the ongoing cleaning operations within the next few days,”says Ravi Jayawickreme,CEO of HambantotaInternational Port Service.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has offered his congratulations to Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson on his maiden voyage into space. Tourists are expected to pay 250,000 US dollars (£180,000) for a spaceflight on Virgin Galactic, which includes four minutes of zero gravity. Prior to the flight, Bezos had posted a photo of Branson with the caption: 'wishing you and the whole team a successful and safe flight tomorrow. Jeff Bezos posts a message to Richard Branson (pictured) on July 10, 2021: @richardbranson wishing you and the whole team a successful and safe flight tomorrow. On the ground, Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said: 'This is a landmark moment for Virgin Galactic.

Speaking to The Morning, Gamage stated that an act is currently being prepared to this effect and the subject is in continuous discussion with the nation’s top Ayurvedic doctors. When queried on her thoughts on the recreational use of cannabis in Sri Lanka, Gamage stated that classifying cannabis as a drug is where “it all went wrong”. In April this year, she proposed in Parliament that Sri Lanka should legalise the cultivation and export of medicinal cannabis to other countries. It is accepted globally, over 50 countries engage in cannabis cultivation. Gamage noted that she plans on continuously pursuing this initiative and will stand as an advocate for the cause.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka Navy managed to take hold of about 2360kg of dried turmeric at the Vankalai beach in Mannar on 11th July 2021. A foot patrol conducted by the Navy in the beach area led to the recovery of the consignment which was suspected to have attempted to smuggle into the island. A special foot patrol carried out by SLNS Pussadewa in North Central Naval Command in the dark hours on 11th July recovered this large consignment of dried turmeric which was suspected to have been brought to the Vankalai beach via sea. The haul of dried turmeric was contained in 60 sacks weighing about 2360kg. The operation was conducted adhering to COVID-19 protocols in place for the prevention of the pandemic situation and the stock of dried turmeric held is kept in naval custody until it is produced for onward legal action.

Former provincial councilors say it will be possible to achieve economic prosperity. The Provincial Councilors also expressed their congratulations on the appointment of the new Minister of Finance. The provincial councilors expressed confidence that Basil Rajapaksa would have the strength to easily manage the economic challenges posed by the Covid epidemic. Basil Rajapaksa also said that he would never hesitate to make sacrifices for the people and that he would continue to work for the motherland and the people as he had done in the past. The former Provincial Councilors had a lengthy discussion on their problems in contributing to development activities and Ministers and senior party officials also participated in this occasion.

​Trainocate Holdings, Sri Lanka’s largest IT and human capability development training provider, has been recognised as the 2021 Microsoft Learning Partner of the Year; the first Asian company ever to have earned the illustrious title. The annual global awards recognise Microsoft partners demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. It acknowledges outstanding contributions and successes by partners from over 100 countries and in a wide variety of categories, including partner competencies, cloud to edge technologies, entrepreneurial spirit, and social impact. Trainocate was very professional and provided us with excellent training plans to meet our needs and vision. With over 25 years of experience in the field, Trainocate enjoys authorized training partner status and affiliations with leading IT vendors and organisations like AWS, Cisco, CompaTIA, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft, NetApp, IBM, Red Hat, Trend Micro, VMware, and many others.

With the easing of travel restrictions, the number of train services in the Western Province will be increased to 103 from today (12), the Railway Department said. Its General Superintendent Dhammika Jayasundara stated that the trains are operated in strict compliance with health and safety measures. Accordingly, the train services running today are as follows. 36 trains on the main line42 trains on the coastal line9 trains on Puttalam route10 trains on Kelani Valley routeHe further said that after a discussion to be held this evening, it will be possible to increase the number of train journeys.

Inevitably a guard blocks you, wags his finger, and gives you a charmingly mischievous, “Not in my house.” This makes for a lot of failed prison escape attempts, and here are ten of the best that ended really badly. In March 1934, Dillinger escaped from Lake County Jail in Indiana using a wooden gun he had carved in his cell. In July of that year, less than five months after his escape, Dillinger was shot dead outside Chicago’s Biograph Theater after seeing a movie with his girlfriend and friend. 2 Ted Bundy… SucceedsUnlike most of the escapes on this list, Ted Bundy’s escape ended badly because it was so successful. Sadly, they only occurred because Bundy escaped from jail and successfully evade capture for months.

“Online education is a must in such a situation. But I do not believe for a moment that distance or online education is a satisfying alternative to teaching in the classroom. It is reported that several trade unions including the Ceylon Teachers ‘Service Union, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, the All Ceylon United Teachers’ Union and the Sri Lanka National Principals’ Union have joined the strike. Commenting on this, the Minister said that only some teachers have taken steps to withdraw from teaching activities today. However, the Minister of Education said that online education should be continued and that it was not a permanent solution.

Overcoming their own personal hurdles, these Olympians are now filled with excitement and enthusiasm to represent Sri Lanka at the Olympic Games. Happy and honoured, she added, “when I got the news that I had been selected to represent Sri Lanka, I could not believe it. “Participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is the result of my hard work and dedication. After training with great dedication and enthusiasm, my only goal is to win a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is also a Leading Woman Communicator, serving the Sri Lanka Navy.

“I’m not afraid,” said Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila against whom the opposition has moved a motion of no-confidence for hiking fuel prices. He stated that the President has the right to change anything of any ministry. He was speaking to reporters following a media briefing held yesterday (11). Gammanpila further stated that he was not afraid of the outcome that might come following the no confidence motion. Gammanpila’s no confidence motion filed by the Opposition is scheduled to be heard on the 19th and 20th of July in Parliament.