Currently, in Sri Lanka, the vaccination process has been started in selected high-risk districts where Covid-19 patients are reported. Accordingly, the Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi stated that the vaccination will be started in the Ratnapura District and then in the Jaffna District. The Health Minister further highlighted that several factors are considered when giving district priority in vaccination which includes, number of patients found in the district, number of recent patients, number of deaths and the geographical nature of the area.

May 31, 2021 10:05 amThe All Ceylon Nurses’ Union launched a trade union action by reporting sick leave this morning (May 31). This is due to the failure to provide proper solutions to the issues faced by nurses engaged in COVID-19 treatment, the General Secretary of the Union H. M. S. B. Mediwatta said. Accordingly, a trade union action launched today will conclude tomorrow morning (June 01), he added.

May 31, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsTourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga says that the final decision on whether to extend or relax the decision to close the airport until today (31) will be announced by the Covid Suppression Committee today. The Minister said that the decision would be taken keeping in view the continuing travel restrictions and the current situation in the country. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has decided to suspend all passenger flights to Sri Lanka for 14 days from midnight on May 21. However, the ban will not apply to departing passenger aircraft.

May 31, 2021 07:41 amSri Lanka Police says that a total of 755 individuals were arrested within yesterday for violating quarantine regulations. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. 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). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.

Realme will today expand its portfolio of X7 series smartphones with the X7 Max 5G. The X7 Max 5G is 8.4mm thick, weighs 179 grams, and you'll get three color options to choose from. Realme X7 Max 5GThe design and confirmed specs of the X7 Max 5G suggest it's a rebranded GT Neo, which is currently only available in China. We'll find out if that's true once Realme reveals the X7 Max 5G's complete specs sheet at the event. Realme GT NeoIn addition to the X7 Max 5G, Realme will also unveil its new Smart TV 4K, which will arrive in 43" and 50" screen sizes.

In the case of foreign currency loans, licensed banks may charge a concessionary interest rate considering the prevailing low interest rates. (d) Alternatively, licensed banks may restructure the existing credit facilities over a longer period, considering the repayment capacity of the borrower and an acceptable revival plan. Licensed banks may charge interest for the deferred period and only on the amount deferred amount as stated in I (c) above. (f) Penal interest shall not be accrued or charged during the concessionary period, i.e., 15 May 2021 to 31 August 2021. Licensed banks shall not charge any additional interest or other charges for such delay.

It's not often Sergio Aguero grabs the headlines for the wrong reasons but on Saturday he was left red-faced after his Panenka penalty went horribly wrong in Manchester City's defeat by Chelsea. Sergio Aguero was left humiliated after he fluffed his lines trying a Panenka penalty vs ChelseaTHE GOODANTONIN PANENKA VS WEST GERMANYThere is only one place to start with this, and that's back to 1976 when the Panenka was coined. ZINEDINE ZIDANE VS ITALYArguably the second most famous Panenka football fans have ever witnessed. With England's quarter-final against Italy at Euro 2012 going to penalties, Pirlo had ice in his veins as he executed the perfect Panenka - leaving Hart in a bundle on the floor. GARY LINEKER VS BRAZILThis penalty miss may still haunt Gary Lineker to this day.

Parley for the Oceans is a relatively new organisation to Sri Lanka, officially introduced only in 2019; however, they have been active in over 30 countries. She said: “Every second breath we take is created by the oceans.” While we do talk about forests and other ecosystems which are, of course, very important to us, if you are to consider the oceans, over 50-70% of the oxygen we breathe is generated by the oceans. However, despite life originating from the oceans, and despite the fact that we are all connected to the oceans, they are currently at risk. Wedage then went on to discuss another pressing concern – plastic pollution, which is a very visible issue. She said people can do their part, and to help, their organisation has introduced a strategy they term “Avoid, Intercept, Redesign”.

Leyanvi Mirando is an Art Director and Publication Designer working at MullenLowe Sri Lanka. As a final-year design student at the Academy of Design (AOD), Mirando based her comprehensive design project on exploring the unorthodox and intriguing world of Sri Lankan lorry design and its underlying culture. Lorry art is a long-standing aspect of Sri Lankan culture. The stickers don’t have the feel of the culture, nor the layers that these artists painstakingly hand paint, but the concept of lorry art still remains. It is clear that lorry art is a beautiful celebration of cultures.

Sri Lanka is witnessing one of its worst marine pollution disasters because of the fire in the container ship X-Press Pearl. These pellets will, according to Katuwawala, absorb surrounding chemicals and toxins with time, making them even more dangerous. The release of oil and chemicals into the ocean can kill marine life, destroy marine habitats, and contaminate critical resources in the ecosystem’s food chain. Katuwawala highlighted the importance of assessing exactly how many containers of plastic pellets were washed ashore so that they could work on a solution to clearing up the debris. The plastic pellets have to further break down to be considered microplastics,” stated Katuwawala.

It’s very celebratory and an educational experience as well” Nimmi HarasgamaTell us a little bit about The Good Karma Hospital and your character, Mari Rodriguez. The show itself, The Good Karma Hospital, is about this young doctor from England, a mixed-race South Asian woman, who leaves England to find herself and ends up working at a cottage hospital in South India, called the Good Karma Hospital. My character, Mari, is a nurse at the Good Karma Hospital. Being nominated for an award like the British National TV Award is quite an achievement. One thing I have to say is that the love I’ve been feeling from Sri Lanka since I’ve been nominated is phenomenal.

Speaking to us, State Ministry of Ornamental Fish, Inland Fish, and Prawn Farming, Fishery Harbour Development, Multi-Day Fishing Activities, and Fish Exports Secretary Jayantha Chandrasoma said that the coastal fisheries area that has been affected because of the burning ship is a limited ocean area and cannot be expected to affect fishing exports overall. Secretary Chandrasoma said that he did not come across any country that made alterations or cancelled fish stock exports so far as a result of the ship incident. Further explaining his statement on the impact of fishing exports, Chandrasoma noted that the amount of nitric acid that has been released to the ocean would not affect the ocean water. Moreover, deep sea fishing is the main source of fish exports and it can be continued in normal conditions, he said. Thus, the fish exports will not be affected, Chandrasoma said.

The investment-grade annual default rate was zero, while the speculative-grade annual default rate reached 9.3%; by comparison the 2019 speculative-grade rate was 1.9%. Over the long-term period, 1995-2020, the average annual sovereign default rate was 0.9%, with an investment-grade rate of zero and a speculative-grade average annual default rate of 2.3%. In all, Fitch’s transition and default data contains 26 cohorts from 1995–2020, allowing for 26 unique one-year transition rates, 25 two-year transition rates, 24 three-year transition rates, and so forth. From these annual default rates, Fitch derives average annual default rates by weighting each cohort’s default rates by the number of ratings outstanding in the given cohort relative to the number of total ratings outstanding for all cohorts. Following the example above, the 2002 “BB” annual default rate of 2% might be followed by a 2003 “BB” annual default rate of 1%.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and his staff stayed with his players until beyond 3am following their Champions League final victory over Manchester City. Chelsea will not parade the trophy because of pandemic restrictions and the fact that most players will now jet off to join their countries ahead of the Euros. Club insiders, however, claim Knill is a valued member of staff and will work closely with new boss Slavisa Jokanovic. JENAS HOPING TO BUILD NEW MEDIA ROOMNobody could accuse Jermaine Jenas of not taking his ever-expanding TV work seriously. MANCHESTER UNITED STADIUM WORKERS HELP SAVE PENSIONER'S LIFETwo quick-thinking Manchester United stadium workers have won praise after racing to the aid of an elderly man on their way to work.

A few short-lived challenges aside, Xiaomi has been the most trending maker on our website for the past month, but this week its domination of our chart reaches new heights. The Chinese maker makes all of the seven most popular phones in our database for the past seven days, which is unprecedented in the entire history of the chart. On top we have the Redmi Note 10 Pro ahead of its non-Pro sibling as the Poco M3 Pro steps down to third. We then have the Poco F3 and yet another new entry - the Chinese Redmi Note 10 Pro - bring up the rear of the Xiaomi army. Samsung is the only other company that managed to place phones in the top 10 with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 taking the final three spots.