'That is why we have chosen to put only Portugal out of mainland Europe on the green list, for instance. 'From what I could see passengers from amber list countries and red list countries are being treated the same. 'I transferred in Paris so I could definitely have been on the plane with people from green list countries.' 'When you come in from a red list country you're split into a red list queue, but you're sat with everyone on the plane and walk out together. From what I could see passengers from amber list countries and red list countries are being treated the same.

The Head Office and other Regional Offices of the Department of Immigration and Emigration will be temporarily closed off for the public with effect from tomorrow (May 20). The Department issuing a media release stated that the Head Office in Battaramulla and the Regional Offices in Kandy, Vavunia, Matara, and Kurunegala will remain closed until further notice. This measure has been taken as a step to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The general public is requested to contact the relevant Divisions through the following telephone numbers and e-mails from 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on working days for the essential services to be obtained from the Head Office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. Travel Division: 070-710 1060/ 070-710 1070Citizenship Division: 070-710 1030Overseas Missions Division: 0115-329 233/ 0115-329 235Visa Division: 070-710 1050[email protected][email protected][email protected]Ports Division: 077-778 2505General instructions & information: www.immigration.gov.lk

COLOMBO (News 1st); Religious leaders have called for the vote on the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill to be postponed. Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero and His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo speaking to reporters on Wednesday (19) called on the government to postpone this vote. “Are the proposed amendments going to be included after the passage of the bill?,” said the Venerable Thero stressing that dual citizens should never be appointed to the Colombo Port City Commission. “What is the urgency to secure the passage of this bill at a time when the country is facing a pandemic?.” questioned His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith adding the vote must be postponed and due consideration must be given to the people’s issues. He said Sri Lanka will become a Chinese Colony while the Venerable Thero said the government must ensure the country remains as it is.

The Google I/O 2021 Developers Conference began yesterday, and the Mountain View company announced plenty of new features for its products, alongside the first beta of Android 12. It also revealed more ways to protect the content and data of Google services users, including more controls over privacy and a quick way to fix compromised passwords. A new feature called Quick Delete will erase everything from your Search history in the last 15 minutes. This is a lot of work when one leaked password is used on multiple platforms, but Google now offers a quick fix. Chrome will pop up a “Change password” button from Assistant and will do it instead of you - the service will create a unique pass and then automatically store it in the database.

This is where Samsung steps in with the S Pen! With the Galaxy Tab S series and its S Pen, Samsung is able to support better collaboration between students, teachers and the management. As a solution and to ease the discomfort of online teachers, they can adopt the Samsung Galaxy Tab along with its S Pen. The S Pen brings the comfort of pen and paper to online teaching. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Tab S7|S7+ come with a feature where the pattern of the notebook page can be taken as the background.

Founded in 2018 as a fintech startup to revolutionise the cashless payments arena of Sri Lanka, DirectPay has come a long way in terms of product reach and innovations. Enabling financial inclusion to all citizens, DirectPay offers cashless payment methods, providing affordability and accessibility with convenience and agility. Given the pandemic, helping Sri Lanka progress towards becoming a cashless society similar to the likes of regional powerhouses such as Singapore and China, is an agenda of DirectPay over the next one year. As such, they are dedicated to ensuring that the local payments landscape is on par with international advancements, including security, quality and innovations aspects. Motivated by its ambition to bring about positive change and driven by its passion for nurturing the digital payments ecosystem of Sri Lanka, DirectPay is geared, now more than ever, to bring about the next wave of innovation in cashless payments.

May 19, 2021 05:33 pmSri Lanka is to receive another stock of the China-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm, State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana stated. The 500,000 vaccine doses will arrive as a donation from the People’s Republic of China. The Embassy of China in Sri Lanka has confirmed that the stock of vaccines will be delivered within this month, Jayasumana said.

COLOMBO (News 1st); China has decided to donate another 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine within this month to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to combat COVID-19. This was confirmed to News 1st by State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, Professor Channa Jayasumana. The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka also tweeted on the same matter. #China decided to donate another 500,000 doses of #Sinopharm #vaccine within this month to support #SriLankan people fighting current wave of #COVID19Tally Aid💉🇨🇳🛬🇱🇰raises to 1.1 million@MFA_China @cidcaofficial @GotabayaR @PresRajapaksa #VaccinationForAll #VaccinEquity pic.twitter.com/kFY4DONUlN— Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka (@ChinaEmbSL) May 19, 2021

May 19, 2021 06:12 pmThe Ministry of Health reports that 1,222 more patients who were being treated for COVID-19 have recovered and have been discharged from hospital within the last 24 hours. This increases the total number of coronavirus recoveries in the country to 122,367. Sri Lanka has so far reported 147,720 positive cases of COVID-19 while presently a total of 24,338 infected patients are being treated at hospitals and treatment centers. The death toll due to the virus has risen to 1,015.

Therefore, with the increasing favourability of next-gen cutting-edge cellular 5G technology in handheld devices, smartphones will be able to establish a more reliable internet connection to cloud or internet-based services. Sri Lanka is rapidly shifting its way from 4G towards the advanced 5G mobile services. vivo, a leader in 5G development and a fervent advocate of the new technology, has been one of the most important contributors to the global 5G technology. In the 5G mobile phone market, vivo is committed to providing consumers with a growing range of 5G mobile phones and an improved 5G experience. vivo is well prepared to fully leverage the 5G technology to create ‘Intelligent Phones’ that stay ahead of time.

Fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have taken to social media to share support for the couple on their third anniversary. Posting pictures of the elaborate day, one royal fan wrote: 'Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary, Harry and Meghan! Fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have taken to social media to share support for the couple on their third anniversary. 'Happy Anniversary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, our lovely Meghan and Harry. 'Happy Anniversary, Harry and Meghan!

Sri Lanka will suspend arrival of passengers from midnight on May 21, says the Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Thereby, passenger arrivals into the country will be halted until the 31st of May, CAA chief stated further.

Ambassadors of the European Union (EU) based in Colombo called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday (18) at the Foreign Ministry, and discussed issues of mutual interest, including EU-Sri Lanka cooperation, and the GSP Plus process. The Foreign Minister welcomed the multifaceted cooperation existing between Sri Lanka and the EU. Follow up action on the EU – Sri Lanka Joint Commission Meeting held on 25 January 2021 was also discussed. Among other issues discussed was the EU’s contribution towards the COVAX facility supporting global efforts to secure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines by countries, including Sri Lanka, in the context of the national action plan to inoculate its adult population against the virus. The State Minister of Regional Cooperation Tharaka Balasuriya, Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry were also present.

COLOMBO (News 1st) UNICEF, with the support of Australia, has procured and delivered a consignment of urgently needed oxygen concentrators and other vital equipment to the Ministry of Health in support of Sri Lanka’s ongoing response to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Sri Lanka is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases with a daily average of nearly 2000 since the beginning of May. The supplies procured with funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) were handed to the Minister of Health, Pavithra Wanniarachchi by David Holly, the Australian Head of Mission in Sri Lanka, Emma Brigham, UNICEF Representative, a.i and Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, United Nations Resident Coordinator. UNICEF requires US$4 million to support the government’s response to the COVID-19 situation, to procure urgent supplies, including for treatment, care for pregnant mothers and newborns, and High Dependency Unit (HDU) equipment. Australia’s overall package of support to Sri Lanka for its COVID-19 response totals LKR 952 million (AUD 6.2 million) and is focused on bolstering health security, promoting social cohesion and stability for Sri Lankan communities, and supporting economic recovery.

HUTCH, Sri Lanka’s preferred choice for mobile broadband services has innovatively addressed customers’ gaming expectations with the launch of HUTCHGoPlay, Sri Lanka’s largest portal for mobile browser based games. Easily accessible via any mobile web browser, HUTCHGoPlay boasts over 1000 games from a wide range of genres for users to choose to their heart’s content. HUTCHGoPlay offers gamers an absolutely No-Ads interface which is significant in its class whilst also providing the ability to play unlimited games without downloading. The gaming hub provides HUTCH users affordable gaming solutions with minimum data consumption at only Rs. HUTCHGoPlay revolutionizes the gaming experience by providing access to a large number of games on demand.