At least twenty-one persons have been wounded and hospitalized after the trailer of a tractor had detached and toppled on the road at Ragala. Police said the incident had occurred at around 8.00 a.m. this morning (21) when a group of estate workers were being transported on the said trailer. The group of female estate workers were traveling to a tea estate located in Ragala to engage in tea plucking when the trailer of the tractor had suddenly detached and toppled at Medawatta on the Ragala-Udupussellawa main road. The wounded persons have been admitted to the Nuwara-Eliya General Hospital while four of them are said to be in critical condition. The driver of the tractor has been arrested while he is to be produced before the Nuwara-Eliya Magistrate’s Court.

Since then, the country has continued to see an increase in recyclers and plastic waste collectors. One such collector is Mahesh, who has created a living by collecting post-consumer plastic waste (PET and HDPE) from hotels and hospitals in Galle. However, issues of waste collection for Mahesh are more significant than the pandemic itself. Echoing Mahesh’s sentiments, everyone has a role to play if we are to improve and increase recycling in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has over 300 PET plastic collection bins across the island in leading supermarkets, community centers and places of public gathering.

The International Association of Pageantry (IAOP) recently announced their appointment of Chanaka Perera as the Exclusive Representative/Partner in Sri Lanka. Dr. Rollan Roberts, Chairman of the IAOP commented on the appointment of the new Exclusive Representative/Partner in Sri Lanka saying, “I’d like to welcome Chanaka Perera and his organization in Sri Lanka to the IAOP membership family. Therefore, his expertise in the area as well as his emphasis on ensuring that the system upholds transparency and equal opportunity, promise great hope for the future of Sri Lanka pageants. The IAOP is also interested in exploring the opportunity of promoting Sri Lanka as a pageant destination in the US. My aim is to ensure that local pageants meet IAOP standards so as to promote Sri Lanka as a pageantry destination.

Official tolls showing the number of deaths directly or indirectly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to be a “significant undercount”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which said between six and eight million people might have died so far. As of Friday, more than 3.4 million deaths worldwide have officially been attributed to the disease since it first surfaced in China in late 2019. In 2020, the World Health Statistics report found there had been at least three million excess deaths due directly or indirectly to COVID-19, some 1.2 million more than officially reported. WHO data analyst William Msemburi said the estimate included both unreported COVID-19 deaths as well as indirect deaths due to the lack of hospital capacity and restrictions on movements, among other factors. “The challenge is that the reported COVID-19 [death toll figures] is an undercount of that full impact,” Msemburi told reporters.

A record 171 billionaires in the UK saw their fortunes soar by more than a fifth as they shook off the financial toll of the pandemic, the Sunday Times Rich List reveals. He is named as one of 10 billionaires in the Scottish rich list. Robert Watts, compiler of the rich list, said: 'The global pandemic created lucrative opportunities for many online retailers, social networking apps and computer games tycoons. He was the only musician to make the main Rich List, sitting in 196th place. He is named as one of 10 billionaires in the Scottish rich list.

The SLT-MOBITEL National Business Directory is the only one of its kind in the country and is recognized as the most reliable business directory designed to connect users and businesses to both local and world-renowned reputable manufacturers and producers. By adopting multiple options such as a Website, Online advertising, Search Engine Optimization, Digital Marketing, emails, messaging, etc., their ability to reach to potential customers via the National Business Directory from SLT-MOBITEL has been guaranteed. The National Business Directory from SLT-MOBITEL holds the unique position of being Sri Lanka’s only Business Directory featuring over 6,000 business organizations, 170,000+ classified and unclassified verified listings of products and services representing all economic sectors including government institutions and religious places. Additionally, based on a government directive, all government institutions are requested to seek cost proposals or quotations when procuring goods and services, from suppliers registered in the SLT-MOBITEL National Business Directory. As the only National Business Directory in Sri Lanka, SLT Rainbow Pages helps create millions of business-to-business (B2B), business-to-government (B2G) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions annually.

Four medical associations, calling a press conference today (May 21), urged the government to continue travel restrictions for a total of fourteen consecutive days. The press conference was convened by Sri Lanka Medical Association, Government Medical Officers’ Association, Association of Medical Specialists and Medical Interdisciplinary Committee. Chairman of Medical Specialists Association Dr. Lakkumara Fernando stressed that the government should not lift the travel restrictions on Tuesday (May 25) but extend the order for fourteen days. He went on to point out that the authorities’ move to impose a three-day travel restriction recently had no scientific basis. A three-day lockdown alone cannot control the spread of the virus and lifting the restrictions in between is pointless, she said further, adding that a 14-day curfew or strict restrictions need to be enforced to properly limit public movement.

May 21, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsThe National Child Protection Authority today introduced a new hotline to secure children in various situations during the Covid pandemic and impending lockdown. The NCPA instructed that if any child does not have security at home or is subjected to harassment 1929 should be dialed immediately. It also stated that the hotline will be in operation 24 hours a day and is available in English, Tamil and Sinhala languages.

Pediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera says that it is very important to give Covid immunization to children above 12 years of age. The doctor added that immunizations are more important to save children from the risk of the rapidly spreading Covid virus, which could spread among children in the future. Dr. Deepal Perera further stated that more than 1000 children in the country are currently infected with Covid and five of them have died. “With this third wave of Covid , the disease can spread very fast among children. Not only immunity, but also our discipline can prevent the disease as well,” he said.

Justice Minister Ali Sabry today (21) stated that there are over 5,000 economic zones with regard to the Port City. He said that the Port City is designed to emulate economic zones because of Sri Lanka’s unique geographical placement. This is to escalate employment through investment,” he said at the Port City press conference today. Sabry observed that the issuing of all licenses will come under the purview of the Port City Commission, which was appointed by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He also confirmed that the Port City will consist of State of the Art Commercial Spaces, schools and hospitals scaled up to international standards.

Israeli aerial bombardment of the densely populated enclave killed 232 Palestinians, damaged thousands of homes and disabled critical infrastructure. Gaza rocket attacks killed 12 people in Israel and wounded hundreds. In the countdown to the 2 a.m. (2300 GMT Thursday) cease-fire, Palestinian rocket salvoes continued and Israel carried out at least one air strike. The fighting meant many Palestinians in Gaza could not mark the Eid al-Fitr festival at Ramadan’s conclusion. The State Department said that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken planned to travel to the Middle East, where he would meet Israeli, Palestinian, and regional leaders to discuss recovery efforts.

Prisons Spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said that steps have been taken to temporarily suspend visitors to prisons due to the Covid 19 pandemic in the country. Due to this, a system is being implemented in the Prisons Department to enable inmates to obtain the required food and hygiene items subject to a limit of Rs. 2,000 per week through relatives. On the occasion of the Vesak festival, inmates on the 26th and 27th will be given the opportunity to obtain a parcel of cooked rice and snacks and hygiene items in accordance with proper hygiene procedures from the prisons. Relatives of inmates have been given the opportunity to pay money to the restaurant from the 19th to the 25th of this month.

May 21, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsThe Railway Department states that no passenger trains will be operated from tomorrow (22) until midnight on May 27. The decision was taken in view of the prevailing Covid-19 epidemic in the country. Travel restrictions will be imposed on the entire island from 11.00 pm today (21) until 4.00 am on Tuesday the 25th. They will also be imposed on Tuesday, May 25 from 11.00 pm to 4.00 am on the 28th.

May 21, 2021 10:07 amPassenger trains will not be operated from Saturday (May 22) until midnight on May 27, Sri Lanka Railways announced. The decision was taken due to the travel restrictions to be imposed across the country from 11.00 pm today in a bid to arrest the spread of COVID-19. Travel restrictions will be lifted at 4.00 a.m. on Tuesday (May 25). However, the orders will come into effect once again from 11.00 p.m. on May 25 until 4.00 a.m. on May 28 (Friday).

COLOMBO (News1st): The Food Control Unit of the Ministry of Health has recommended that 25 freight containers of rice imported from a foreign country are unsuitable for human consumption. The specific containers of rice were deemed unsuitable for human consumptions based on recommendations of an analyst report, the Health Ministry said on Friday (May 21). According to the authorities, the said stock of rice was imported to the country two years ago. The Food Control Unit of the Ministry of Health had inspected the rice following a request made to permit the sale of the rice stocks through Sathosa outlets, a senior spokesperson at the Health Ministry said.