90% of pregnant women in Sri Lanka vaccinated
COLOMBO (News 1st); 90% of the pregnant women in Sri Lanka have been vaccinated, confirmed Dr. Chithramalee De Silva, the Director of the Family Health Bureau on Tuesday (21). Around 5,000 pregnant women in Sri Lanka tested positive for COVID-19 and around 200 of them are currently being treated in hospital, she said noting that sadly, 52 pregnant women died of COVID-19. ‘All COVID-19 deaths of pregnant women were reported after May 2021,” she added. Dr. Chithramalee De Silva went on to note that around 100 pregnant women die annually, and so far this year 52 pregnant women had already died of COVID-19. She urged the pregnant women to obtain the vaccine against COVID-19 without any fear noting that the vaccination had resulted in minimizing mortality rates.
Source:The Nation
September 22, 2021 05:03 UTC
Sunil Perera’s legacy to be marked in Madame Tussauds
A Sri Lankan entrepreneur living in the United Kingdom, has embarked on a mission to introduce a wax figure of Sri Lankan Musical Legend Sunil Perera to the world-famous tourist attraction point in London, The Madame Tussauds. The Morning contacted Sunil’s son, Sajith Perera who confirmed that the Lankan-Brit Entrepreneur Faleel Marikkar has indeed contacted the Perera Family, and consent has been given by the family to proceed. Sajith went on to say that the Perera family is personally not involved in this mission, but appreciate the efforts taken by the fans who want to keep the legacy of Sunil Perera alive. Madame Tussauds Museum is a major tourist attraction in London founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in 1835, and holds wax figures of many famous people such as The British Monarchy, celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachan and many more. If approved, Sunil Perera would be the first Sri Lankan entertainer to have entered the international wax museum.
Source:The Nation
September 22, 2021 04:52 UTC
Sri Lanka Australia discuss enhanced cooperation in intelligence sharing, education
Peiris met his Australian counterpart Marise Payne in New York and discussed avenues for enhanced cooperation on a wide spectrum of areas. Foreign Minister Payne has conveyed the warm greetings of the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to his Sri Lankan counterpart. Minister Peiris referred to the experience of Australia in vocational education and expressed that Sri Lanka is very much interested in gaining assistance in this area. She welcomed enhanced cooperation between the two countries in the areas outlined by Minister Peiris, particularly in the field of intelligence sharing and education. Both Ministers agreed to work together closely to further enhance the warm and cordial relations between Sri Lanka and Australia.
Source:The Nation
September 22, 2021 02:37 UTC
'It's the Dan Andreas Fault': Hilarious reactions to Melbourne's earthquake
Australians have flocked to social media with hilarious reactions after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Melbourne and the nation's southeast. It is the biggest earthquake Victoria has experienced since European settlement (1834) and more aftershocks are expected, but fortunately no injuries have been reported. A massive 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Melbourne on Tuesday, with tremors felt as far away as the NSW Central Coast. Several others joked the earthquake was caused by the 'Dan Andreas Fault' - a name play on the 1200km long San Andreas Fault that runs through California. Houses in Melbourne shook and movement could be felt in Geelong and even at Canberra's Parliament House and Sydney's CBD.
Source:The Nation
September 22, 2021 02:03 UTC
Beleaguered Duke puts the right foot forward (for once)
But after yet another disastrous week trying to fight the damning allegations against him, Prince Andrew was spotted putting his right foot forward (for once). The Duke of York, who is staying at the Queen's Balmoral estate, was spotted putting his right foot forward (for once)The incident comes after it was reported the duke was yet to return from Scotland to meet his new granddaughter. Prince Andrew rescued a dog while attending a reception in an upper storey of a castle in the Scottish Highlands. (Stock image)The duke has been attending a reception in the Scottish Highlands when the incident took place. One source told The Sun: 'Andrew has made it quite clear that he wasn't leaving Balmoral.
Source:The Nation
September 22, 2021 02:03 UTC
How to fix Deathloop ‘stuttering’ issues on PC
Deathloop is the big triple-A game of the moment, and it’s an amazing experience — assuming you’re not fighting your gaming PC to get it to run smoothly. Also, there’s a new patch as of September 21st that Bethesda says might partially fix the issues. You’ll have to hit Check Code and also Opt into before the beta hotfix will work. DEATHLOOP PC players, we have released an update that addresses Steam achievements and adds descriptive error reporting for crashes on launch. More info:https://t.co/uO6qu7Vrzb — DEATHLOOP (@deathloop) — DEATHLOOP (@deathloop) September 16, 2021Update September 21st, 6:35PM ET: Added that a hotfix is live, and may no longer require the beta.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 22:52 UTC
Wyze’s new pan & tilt cam can see everywhere
Ubiquitous budget smart home company Wyze has released yet another new product — the Wyze Cam Pan v2. As the name implies, this is the second generation of one of Wyze’s earliest products — the Wyze Cam Pan that debuted three years ago. There’s no change in form factor, and the Wyze Cam Pan v2 camera looks virtually identical to its (now-discontinued) predecessor. Wyze has refreshed one of its earliest products, the Wyze Cam Pan, adding color night vision and a siren. The Wyze Pan Cam v2 is shipping now, and Wyze has had a fair amount of trouble keeping stuff in stock recently.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 21:45 UTC
The Oversight Board wants answers about Facebook’s celebrity moderation program
The Oversight Board, a semi-independent body that reviews Facebook’s moderation policies, announced on Tuesday that it wants more information about the “cross-check” system Facebook uses to “review content decisions relating to some high-profile users.” Cross-check is getting called into question because of a report from The Wall Street Journal that claimed the system lets high-profile users break the rules. Trump’s relative protection via cross-check came up in the board’s decision to uphold the former President’s Facebook ban. At the time, the board noted that there’s limited public information about cross-check reviews — a 2018 blog post is one of the most recent. The company has publicly committed to following the organization’s calls on individual moderation decisions but reserves the right to not follow broader recommendations. With today’s announcement and renewed pressure to clarify a program with issues Facebook’s already working to address, maybe we’ll finally learn more about the controversial program.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 21:45 UTC
At pivotal points in human spaceflight, NASA undergoes major reorganization
The second will be the Space Operations Mission Directorate, which will handle more routine, operational programs like the International Space Station and the Commercial Crew Program. NASA’s human exploration chief, Kathy Lueders, will now lead a new directorate focused on space operations. Lueders, who previously led NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, will move from her post as human spaceflight chief to helm the Space Operations Mission Directorate. How are we going to manage this huge change in scope?’”NASA’s Artemis program includes a wide range of technologies that fall under the now-decentralized human exploration directorate. “This approach allows one mission directorate to operate in space, while the other builds space systems,” Melroy said.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 20:48 UTC
Do Instagram Hashtags Belong In the Caption or Comments?
Photo: Adam Hoglund (Shutterstock)If you’re trying to reach new Instagram followers, hashtags are still one of your top tools in 2021. For years, there’s been fierce debate over where to put those pound signs: Team Caption versus Team Comment. Instagram has finally given us an answer via their @creators account, which features tips and tricks for all kinds of content creators trying to get more followers and engagement. G/O Media may get a commissionIt’s not clear the extent to which hashtags are more effective in captions over comments, but for now, Instagram has tipped the scale in favor of Team Caption. So what is Team Caption to do?
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 20:37 UTC
‘Selendiva has attracted no investors’
By Imsha IqbalEconomist and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday (21) during a parliamentary session disclosed that no investors have come forward to invest in Selendiva Leisure, a state-owned property development entity. He said that the reason why investors have not come is the state of the economy and demanded the Government to provide details of the investors who have come forward to invest in Selendiva Leisure. Ltd. (owning company of Hilton Colombo), Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd., and Grand Oriental Hotel have been vested with Selendiva Investments at present. Under this, it has been identified to implement three investment portfolios: The Heritage Square in Colombo Fort, real estate development, and the state-owned hospitality sector. Nevertheless, the Opposition raised several concerns following the announcement that Selendiva Leisure would be listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE).
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
Expats barred from fund repatriation
Expatriates were complaining on social media for not being able to transfer funds to countries including India and the UK. We are returning to live in the UK but cannot take any assets with us.”Another individual stated : “You cannot send money out of Sri Lanka. Continued attempts made by The Morning Business to determine the reason behind this issue proved futile as Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials and Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal were unreachable throughout the day, yesterday (21). Moreover, within the next two to three months alone, $ 1.5 billion in foreign debt needs to be repaid, reducing reserves to $ 2 billion. Therefore, these pressures would point to the further extension of such restrictions on outward remittance on the capital transactions and the introduction of further additional restrictions.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
The truth behind elephants ‘bowing down’ to pay their respects
We’ve all seen the image of elephants bowing down to pay their respects to various deities. We spoke to Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) Founder and animal rights activist Maneesha Arachchige who shared her thoughts on the matter. Therefore, he said that he feels it is futile to push for the complete abolition of the use of elephants in these cultural activities. However, what can be done, he went on, is to encourage the welfare of these animals held in captivity and to create awareness around the fact that elephants are in fact wild animals and they are not at all domesticated. “Domestication must happen over generations and elephants remain wild beasts.”Therefore, regardless of these practices being age-old traditions, they are unnatural to these wild animals and we as humans are making them do it.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
USA’s Beijing 2022 boycott is ‘nonsense’ – Russia
There have been significant calls for the IOC to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from BeijingRussia has described a potential diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing by the United States as “nonsense”. US politicians and officials boycotting Beijing 2022 moved a step closer in June when the Senate passed a Bill that introduces a series of measures aimed at tackling Chinese foreign policy and economic influence. The US and other Western countries have criticised China for its human rights record and claimed the country is carrying out a genocide on Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. While the US could diplomatically boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Russia is set to send its President Vladimir Putin after he accepted an invitation to attend the Games from Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. “It is not the first and not the last time that we hear all this nonsense from there.”Relations strainedChina’s record on human rights – including in Tibet and Hong Kong – has come under increasing scrutiny with the Beijing 2022 Olympics on the horizon.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC
SEC Bill comes into effect
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Bill came into effect yesterday with the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena endorsing the certificate on the Bill. The Bill was presented by the Minister of Finance in Parliament on 9 July 2021 which was published in the gazette on 28 June 2021. The Bill was passed in the first week of this month at the Parliament with amendments without a vote. The new law, which will replace the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, before giving up his ministerial portfolio, recently stated that this Bill and the recently passed Amnesty Bill “will be very positive for the country’s economy”.
Source:The Nation
September 21, 2021 18:45 UTC