Another 02 million doses of Sinopharm arrive in Sri Lanka
Another two million doses of the China-manufactured Sinopharm medicine have arrived in Sri Lanka early this morning (July 11). The consignment arrived in two Sri Lankan Airlines charter flights at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Meanwhile, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, joining TV Derana Breakfast Show ‘Derana Aruna’ said that another 02 million of the Sinopharm vaccine is due to be received within the month of July. In addition, another 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca will arrive within the third week of July while another stock of Sputnik V will, too, arrive within the month. Sri Lanka has received a total of 6.57 million COVID-19 vaccine doses so far, the Army Chief said.
Source:The Nation
July 11, 2021 04:18 UTC
Sony Xperia Pro hands-on - true Pro or half-hearted concept?
The Sony Xperia Pro costs $2,500 (JPY 250,000) and is exclusively available to the US and Japan. Using the Sony Xperia Pro as a monitor for a cameraSo what does the Sony Xperia Pro do that an external monitor can't? The Sony Xperia Pro isn't all bad. But when we come to the $2,500 price, we inevitably compare the Sony Xperia Pro to a quality external monitor or even monitor and recorder. The Sony Xperia Pro is a nice bragging right phone.
Source:The Nation
July 11, 2021 01:18 UTC
Ethiopia PM wins delayed election with huge majority
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has won the country’s delayed elections with an overwhelming majority, the election board said on Saturday. The board said Mr Abiy’s Prosperity Party won 410 out of 436 seats, giving him another five-year term in office. Mr Abiy, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, described the vote as a “historically inclusive election” in a statement on Twitter. Berhanu Nega said his party, Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice, had filed more than 200 complaints after observers in a number of regions were blocked by local officials and militiamen. In May, the EU accused Ethiopia of failing to guarantee the independence of its election.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 21:22 UTC
Sunny Side Up: Post for resigning MP
Former SLPP MP Jayantha KetagodaFormer Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National List MP Jayantha Ketagoda is tipped to receive a high office or a diplomatic posting following his resignation from the House last week. Ketagoda tendered his resignation from Parliament last Tuesday (6) in order to pave the way for SLPP National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa to return to Parliament. The appointment to be given to the parliamentarian who resigns to make way for Basil was taken up for discussion during last week’s meeting between the Rajapaksa family members held at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Mirihana residence.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 18:56 UTC
Virus variants threaten global recovery, G20 warns
An upsurge in new coronavirus variants and poor access to vaccines in developing countries threaten the global economic recovery, finance ministers of the world’s 20 largest economies warned on Saturday. The G20 gathering in the Italian city of Venice was the ministers’ first face-to-face meeting since the start of the pandemic. “The recovery is characterised by great divergences across and within countries and remains exposed to downside risks, in particular the spread of new variants of the COVID-19 virus and different paces of vaccination,” it read. It was referring to an IMF forecast that international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines could speed world economic recovery and add $9 trillion to global income by 2025. The biggest policy initiative at the talks was a well-flagged agreement on the global corporate tax rate, capping eight years of wrangling on the issue.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 18:33 UTC
Cricket fans pack Lord's for biggest capacity crowd since Covid lockdown with no social distancing
England and Pakistan fans have packed into Lord's for Britain's biggest full capacity crowd since the pandemic with 30,000 crammed in to the Home of Cricket for the One Day International. Fans were able to to watch the match without the need for face masks or social distancing in the first England men's game at Lord's since their triumphant 2019 World Cup final. The rule of six does not apply and neither does social distancing, meaning large groups can gather at bars and restaurants in the stadium. Three players and four management staff contracted the virus after a one-day match against Sri Lanka at Bristol last Sunday. An investigation has been launched amid claims that Covid protocols were breached in the lead up to the outbreak.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 18:00 UTC
Yevan David’s number one is Formula one
Yevan was placed 15th among the top 80 drivers in the world under the age category 12-15 following the recent event in Belgium. In conversation with Little Stars, the 13-year-old racing champion said that his one number goal is Formula One and his future plans include improving the racing resources in Sri Lanka. You were placed 15th among the top 80 drivers in the world under your age category following the event in Belgium. And from there I have to try to get sponsors and try to move up the stages – Formula 3 and Formula 2. But the very few resources Sri Lanka has are not the resources you need to do it professionally.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 18:00 UTC
Quarantining protesters: ‘Police obtained health authorities’ approval’
The decision was met with criticism from the Opposition, trade unionists, and social activists. Observing that although the DGHS is mentioned as the competent authority, Kumarapperuma explained: “However, the DGHS cannot issue regulations or directives. Kumarapperuma further said: “That decision has to be taken by the health authorities, and not the Police. There should be a valid explanation from the health authorities to send a person to quarantine. The SJB also filed three fundamental rights (FR) petitions at the Supreme Court last Friday (9) challenging the arrests of trade union activists using the quarantine law.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 18:00 UTC
England captain Harry Kane has revealed that Tom Cruise FaceTimed the squad on Friday night
By Alex Bowmer For MailonlinePublished: 12:59 EDT, 10 July 2021 | Updated: 13:53 EDT, 10 July 2021England captain Harry Kane has revealed that Tom Cruise FaceTimed the squad on Friday night to wish them good luck ahead of this Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley. Tom Cruise wished England and Harry Kane good luck for Sunday's Euro 2020 final vs ItalyKane told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'We actually had Tom Cruise get in touch yesterday evening, you get everyone who loves football. 'The majority of people in the world love football, so it's great to have all that support not just in England but across the world. I don't think we need to look into it too much or do too much different to what we have been. It is a game we feel like we can win if we get right.'
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 17:48 UTC
Renewable energy gets boost: CEB ordered to halt Norochcholai extension
In the President’s election manifesto, Rajapaksa had highlighted the importance of the renewable energy sector of the country, as he stated that by 2030, it is expected that the country’s renewable energy mix would be 40% of the total portfolio, and had also anticipated that hydro and renewable energy together would account for 80% of the overall energy mix by 2030. The earlier agreed ratio was 70% of renewable energy which has now been instructed to be increased by another 20%. Furthermore, two 300 MW high-efficiency coal power plants are expected to be commissioned in 2025 and 2028 at Foul Point in Trincomalee. As identified, future coal power plant development is an integral requirement in order to cater to the power sector demand at a lower cost. According to the CEB’s generation plan, by 2025, the capacity share of coal power plants will be at 30% while natural gas power plants would be at 35%.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 17:37 UTC
Crude oil tanker in Colombo Port: Payment issues delay clearance
Payments made, shipments cleared: CPCLimited foreign reserves a problem: MinisterBy Yumiko PereraA vessel carrying crude oil to Sri Lanka had been anchored in the Port of Colombo for several days due to a delay in making the required payment, The Sunday Morning learnt. The confirmation of the payment for the fuel tanker which arrived in Sri Lanka on 5 July had only been cleared on 9 July – a four-day delay – according to highly placed internal sources at Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). Speaking with The Sunday Morning, CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe said the payment has been cleared, and as per the birthing schedule, things would commence as per usual. We have a birthing schedule and as per the schedule, the usual mechanism would commence in extracting the oil from the tankers,” he noted. “If this was an issue of rupees, we could have subsidised it or used alternative means, but it is an issue of foreign currency.”
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 17:15 UTC
Early release measures: Immediate ways to address over-incarceration
It also called for the evaluation of the rehabilitation of persons with long-term sentences with a view to early release and social reintegration. In the short and medium term, expeditious efforts must be made to release those who have been languishing in prison for many years through existing early release measures. In order for persons on death row to benefit from early release measures, their sentences must first be commuted. In 1999, the then President suspended early release measures. Detailed recommendations on early release measures are set out in Chapter 18 of the report of the National Study of Prisons conducted by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka at https://www.hrcsl.lk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Prison-Report-Final-2.pdf.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 16:52 UTC
Losses of state enterprises: A crisis on the rise
By Yoshitha PereraSri Lanka’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to suffer massive losses for a prolonged period. 69.4 billion while the other 19 SOEs made net losses amounting to Rs. The State Minister added that all governments have to follow the above procedure while providing a safeguard to those operations. According to the report, as a result, the CPC’s outstanding borrowings from two state commercial banks increased to Rs. With cabinet approval, the two state banks had also provided $ 75 million for working capital purposes in 2021.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 16:41 UTC
Economic crisis: Fearing a bad-to-worse scenario
By Yumiko PereraSri Lanka’s increasing debt burden had fazed its economic stability since before the onset of the pandemic. The Sunday Morning reached out to several individuals to understand their perspective on how the country’s economy is faring. People should be taught basic economic principles, beginning from primary education itself, so they understand the basics to speak out when politicians are messing with the economy. There’s so much uncertainty surrounding everything in the country, and the pandemic certainly hasn’t made things easier for anybody. Need to prepare for future challengesShahane Perera, 23, bankerThe economy of the country is in an unsustainable scenario at the moment, and the country is in severe debt.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 16:30 UTC
Britney Spears wants to hire lawyer Mathew Rosengart to represent her in ending conservatorship
Britney Spears is reportedly in the market for a new lawyer after her longtime court-appointed attorney Samuel Ingham resigned earlier this week. The 39-year-old pop superstar has her eye set on high-profile attorney Mathew Rosengart to take over the position, TMZ reported on Saturday. Multiple sources claimed that not only did Spears want Rosengart to take over her case, but she has already signed a document requesting that he represent her. She reportedly signed her name as 'Britney Jean Spears.' Making it official: Britney reportedly signed a document expressing her desire to retain Rosengart as her attorney.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 15:45 UTC