Tuesday, 25th May 2021, Colombo: As part of its ongoing efforts to give back to the community & society, American & Efird Lanka (A&E Lanka), a Portfolio Company of Elevate Textiles, recently partnered with Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) to support their efforts in Forest Restoration of the Kanneliya Conservation Forest in Halgahawela, Opatha. Biodiversity Sri Lanka (BSL) in partnership with the Forest Department, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Sri Lanka and 10 of its Member Companies, initiated the restoration project of a 10-hectare block of degraded fern land in the Kanneliya Conservation Forest in 2018. With A&E Lanka’s support BSL will now begin the restoration of a further two hectares facilitating connectivity of this fragmented forest patch with the Kanneliya Conservation Forest. Commenting on this latest partnership, Dilhan C Fernando – Chairman of the Board of Directors, Biodiversity Sri Lanka stated, “The Importance of this collaboration, for me personally as a person representing the private sector and Biodiversity Sri Lanka, is that we have united science, government and business in doing something that will deliver the kind of change we need at a national level. A&E Lanka has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 1991 supporting Sri Lankan Apparel Manufacturers to position Sri Lanka’s Apparel Industry as the ‘Preferred Ethical Apparel Sourcing Destination’ on the global sourcing map.

The Ministry of Health reported that 1,203 more patients who were being treated for COVID-19 have recovered and were discharged from medical care within the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of coronavirus recoveries in the country to 142,378. Majority of the latest recoveries were reported from Dambadeniya Treatment Centre (76), Gallela Treatment Centre (70) and Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (66). Sri Lanka has so far reported 169,900 positive cases of COVID-19 and a total of 26,253 infected patients are still being treated at designated hospitals and treatment centres.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Cyclonic Storm “YASS” located over East-central Bay of Bengal is landed near north Odisha coasts, India by 26th May noon. The impact of this system, on the weather over the island and the sea areas around the island, is expected to reduce gradually. However, due to the south-west monsoonal condition, the showery condition over the Southwestern part of the island and the gusty wind over the island will be expected during the next few days. Showers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-Western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Another prison inmate infected with COVID-19 has escaped custody today, says the Prisons Spokesman Commissioner Chandana Ekanayake. He was transferred from Iyakachchi quarantine centre in Jaffna to Kilinochchi Hospital after suffering a heart attack. According to reports, the inmate in question has fled through a window of the hospital’s lavatory. In another development, a coronavirus-infected inmate of Boossa Prison escaped custody yesterday (May 25) while being transferred to an intermediate treatment centre. Meanwhile, another COVID-19 patient has run off last evening while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Kollupitiya.

COLOMBO (News 1st); In view of the developments connected with the fire on MV X Press Pearl, Indian nationals currently in Sri Lanka are advised to refrain from going close to the seas off Colombo and Negombo, the Indian High Commission in Colombo announced on Wednesday (26). All Indians in Sri Lanka and planning to travel to Sri Lanka may kindly keep abreast of Covid related restrictions recently imposed by the Government of Sri Lanka, it added noting that the High Commission of India will provide regular updates depending on the situation.

COLOMBO (News 1st): The debris and freight containers that fell into sea from the distressed MV X-PRESS PEARL vessel have washed ashore at the Negombo beach, the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) said on Wednesday (May 26). The contamination is very high and the entire area is affected,” Dharshani Lahandapura, the Chairperson of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) told News 1st. “So we CANNOT stop an oil spill within closer proximity to the vessel because of the current weather pattern and the prevailing sea conditions. Thereby, the only option available to address an oil spill is to conduct a beach clean-up afterward. We are closely monitoring the situation to minimize the potential oil spill,” Dharshani Lahandapura, the Chairperson of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) pointed out.

In a statement issued by the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) yesterday (25), the BASL welcomed the appointment of Mr. Sanjay Rajaratnam PC to the office of the Attorney-General“Whilst congratulating the new Attorney General, we have the confidence that he will exercise his duties impartially and maintain the independence of the Office. We look to him to uphold the Rule of Law, the Independence of the judiciary and the fundamental human rights of the people,” the Committee said. The BASL also noted that at the time of his appointment as the Attorney-General Mr. Sanjay Rajaratnam PC was the Acting Solicitor-General and the most senior officer in the Department of the Attorney General presently eligible for appointment, having served the Department of the Attorney-General since 1988. Additionally, the BASL commended President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Parliamentary Council for giving due consideration to the vital criteria when appointing the Attorney-General on the first occasion such an appointment was made after the enactment of the 20th amendment of the constitution. The outgoing Attorney-General, Mr. Dappula de Livera PC was also thanked by the Association for his service to the Department and for the cooperation he extended to the BASL.

Meanwhile, the 14-inch model offers either a Ryzen 5 5500U or Ryzen 7 5700U CPU, a 14-inch 2,560 x 1,600 screen (60Hz, 16:10), and a 56Wh battery. Starting with the AMD-powered Redmibook Pro line, we’ve got 14-inch and 15-inch flavors packing 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSDs. The company also launched two more notable products, namely the Redmi Airdots 3 Pro and Redmibook Pro Ryzen Edition laptops. Moving to the Redmi Airdots 3 Pro, this is Redmi’s first pair of true wireless earbuds with noise cancellation (up to 35 decibels). Redmi product pricingThe RedmiBook Pro Ryzen models start at 4,299 yuan (~$672) for the base 14-inch model, while splashing out 4,699 yuan (~$735) gets you a better processor.

Ten staff members of the Opposition Leader’s office in Parliament have tested positive for COVID-19. All contacts of the virus-infected individuals have been directed to self-isolate, the Serjeant-at-Arms of the Parliament, Narendra Fernando stated. On May 20, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman was confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 infection. Subsequent reports on May 23 revealed that Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa and his wife have also contracted the virus. Two days later, SJB MP Nalin Bandara confirmed that he is positive for novel coronavirus.

The government has decided to lift the temporary restriction imposed on inbound travelers to Sri Lanka effective 1st June 2021, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Upul Dharmadasa stated yesterday (25). However, he noted that restrictions for the passengers who have been to India within the last 14 days will continue until further notice. Dharmadasa added that the total number of passengers on inbound flights should not exceed 75 plus tourists per flight. Further, he said that foreign nationals, seafarers, business travelers etc. require the approvals from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter Sri Lanka along with their entry visa, while tourists should refer to the directions given by the Tourist Board.

The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka donated 4,700 PCR test kits worth Rs.13 million to the Ministry of Health yesterday (25). The Director of Indo-Pacific Development Group, Bradley Elder, handed over the donation to Prof. Channa Jayasumana, State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals at the Health Ministry . The State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control Sudarshini Fernandopulle was also present at this occasion. The donation was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief while the U.S. Embassy has coordinated the purchase and delivery of supplies. Secretary to the Ministry of Health Major General Dr. Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Secretaries to State Ministry Saman Ratnayake and Amal Harsha de Silva were also present at this occasion.

Oppo is set to introduce the Reno6 series tomorrow in China, including the Reno6, Reno6 Pro, and Reno6 Pro+. There might be a Reno6 Z 5G (CPH2237) as well, which recently got certified by Malaysia's SIRIM and has now bagged certification by Thailand's NBTC. The listing on the Thai certifying authority's website doesn't include any specs of the Reno6 Z 5G, but since its predecessor (Reno5 Z) was a rebranded F19 Pro+ 5G with slower charging and NFC chip onboard, the Reno6 Z 5G could also be based on an existing Oppo smartphone. We'll find that out at tomorrow's event if Oppo unveils the Reno6 Z 5G alongside the vanilla, Pro, and Pro+ models. Source (in Thai)

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has issued a special Presidential pardon to several prisoners imprisoned on charges under selected sections of the Penal Code in accordance with the powers vested in him by the Constitution in view of the National Vesak Festival which falls today (26). Abolition and release of remand prisoners serving non-payment of fines by 7th May. Abolition and release of prisoners over 65 years of age as at 7th May who have already served half or more of the sentence imposed on them. Releasing prisoners who were serving life sentences to 25 years by 7th May and releasing prisoners who have exceeded the Presidential pardon on Independence Day in calculating the general pardon of prison from the date of sentencing to 25 years imprisonment. Arrangements have been made to release the pardoned prisoners in accordance with the health guidelines and medical recommendations to be followed on their release today.

Research from Transport for London has found that e-scooters could be 100 times more dangerous than bicycles. In cities where they are already available, rented e-scooters have been dumped on pavements, causing a hazard to pedestrians. Police forces have reported a raft of crimes related to e-scooters, including shoplifting, drug possession and suspects using them to escape arrest. Trevor Sterling, partner at Moore Barlow law firm and chair of the Major Trauma Group, which has campaigned for greater safety surrounding e-scooters, said: 'Two years ago there was a moped crime wave — now it's moved on to e-scooters, which are cheaper and more accessible. In another case on the Isle of Wight, an e-scooter rider who had failed to stop for officers was later arrested on suspicion of selling Class B drugs.

This was the central question in the so-called Lobster War between France and Brazil in the early 1960s. When they refused, the Brazilian Navy captured a French vessel and shut off access to all French boats off their coast. This ignited an international incident that was not resolved until 1964, when the countries to reach an agreement that expanded Brazil’s territorial waters but allowed limited French lobster fishing. French fishermen were upset that their country prohibited them from harvesting scallops between May and October, while British fishermen could fish year-round. According to the British fishermen, the French vessels threw stones and nets at the British boats, along with French taunts worthy of any Monty Python sketch.