Sri Lanka to obtain USD 150 million ADB loan to boost COVID vaccine drive
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $150 million for Sri Lanka to purchase COVID-19 vaccines and to improve vaccination information, delivery, and monitoring systems. The project is part of ADB’s USD 9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) launched last December to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to its developing member countries. The Philippines-based regional bank said the loan will help finance the purchase of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to immunize about 4 million Sri Lankans, contributing to the government’s target to reach 80% vaccine coverage by 2023. ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has tremendously affected Sri Lanka’s economy, which is highly dependent on the services sector and tourism. ADB’s support will help protect millions of Sri Lankans from COVID-19 and strengthen the government’s response and vaccination program.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 08:37 UTC
UK could stop using AstraZenca's jab within DAYS, analysis
In total, 24.6m people had received their first AstraZeneca vaccine by June 30, the latest week for which data is available, and 21.5m had been fully vaccinated. Officials are administering 800,000 second doses of the British vaccine each week, which could see the remaining AstraZeneca patients protected by the end of this month. It comes after the Department of Health said that another 96,000 first and 175,000 second doses were dished out on Thursday. Even after one dose, vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease was around 60 per cent and did not fall substantially with age. This rises from 4 per cent after a first dose, showing the importance of a second dose.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 08:26 UTC
Top 10 Ways Science Predicts the World Will End
The world is going to end. You can define the end of the world in a few different ways—the end of human civilization, the end of all life, or the destruction of the entire hunk of rock—but no matter how you slice it, it’s all coming undone eventually. But unlike those more apocryphal predictions, mainstream science is pretty certain of a few events that can—or will—cause the end of our world. Whether it’s microbes, machines, or missiles from space, here are ten ways scientists predict the world will end. Overall, the nearest and most likely end of the world is a slow, subtle, multi-pronged attack by… us.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 08:06 UTC
Top 10 Royals That Were Absolutely Crazy
Here are ten royals whose actions earned them a spot on the list of history’s craziest. 10 King George III of EnglandMad King of Britain: King George III 👑 Private Lives of Monarchs | Smithsonian ChannelGeorge III is remembered mostly for being the king who lost to America in their War of Independence. What details have survived, however, paint the young royal as wildly depraved. 4 Princess Alexandra of BavariaTop 10 Crazy / Insane Royal Family MemeberPrincess Alexandra of Bavaria was extremely intelligent. Caligula took Nero’s cruelty and cranked it to 11.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 08:03 UTC
UK exports to European Union bounce back following Brexit slump
By Hugo Duncan for the Daily MailPublished: 16:53 EDT, 9 July 2021 | Updated: 03:47 EDT, 10 July 2021Exports to the European Union have bounced back following a slump in trade after Brexit. In January, goods exports to the EU fell to £7.9billion. Exports of goods to the rest of the world were also up 5.5 per cent to £15.2billion, the highest level since January 2020. Other areas of the economy performed better in May, with the ‘accommodation and food services’ sector growing by 37.1 per cent following the reopening of pubs, restaurants and hotels. But overall, gross domestic product rose by just 0.8 per cent following a 2 per cent leap in April.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 07:52 UTC
Seven members of X-Press Pearl s local agency arrested
Seven members from the local shipping agency which represents the fire-wrecked cargo ship MV X-Press Pearl have been taken into custody. These suspects, arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), will be produced before the court later. In mid-June, Arjuna Hettiarachchi, the chairman of the said agency – Sea Consortium Lanka (Pvt) Ltd – was also placed under arrest. During the investigations, the CID had uncovered that the local agent had deleted several e-mails exchanged with the vessel’s captain that are vital to the investigations. Accordingly, it was determined that the local agency had acted with negligence with regard to the incident.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 06:56 UTC
Interprovincial travel restrictions further extended for 14 days
July 10, 2021 09:01 amExisting travel restrictions will be further relaxed from today (July 10, however, the interprovincial restrictions will be effective for another 14 days, says the Director-General of Health Services. Updated announcement on relaxation of travel restrictions and permitted public activities is produced below:
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 03:22 UTC
Burglar severely beaten while committing a crime, dies in hospital
COLOMBO (News 1st); A 32-year-old criminal was reported dead after he was captured and assaulted while committing a robbery on Friday (09)evening. The deceased had broken into a house in Wattala and following the assault he was admitted to the Ragama Hospital. Investigations revealed that the deceased was involved in 24 break-ins in Kadawatha Kiribathgoda and Wattala Police areas, said Police Spokesperson Senior DIG Ajith Rohana on Saturday (10). Sri Lanka Police in terms of section 96 of the Penal Code reported facts to the court and the Wattala Police is conducting further investigations.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 02:26 UTC
One area in Kegalle isolated, six other orders lifted
The National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) has stated that the following area will be under isolation effective from 6.00 am today (July 10), until further notice:Kegalle DistrictKegalle police areaGolindawatta 3 area in Malawita GN DivisionMeanwhile, the isolation orders imposed on the following localities have been lifted with effect from this morning:Puttalam DistrictMadampe police areaMarakkalagama GN DivisionArachchikattuwa police areaKarukkupane GN DivisionMatara DistrictWeligama police areaPelena South GN DivisionJaffna DistrictKaraveddy police areaKaranavai GN DivisionKalutara DistrictMathugama police areaAmbetenna Watta main area in Yatadola Watta GN DivisionAmbetenna Watta clay area in Yatadola Watta GN Division
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 02:26 UTC
A Monarchy of Family Power
The Basilaagamanaya or the New Rise of Basil Politics is having its immediate impact on the Rajapaksa Power Display. Leading trade unionists and student protesters are the showpieces of the new Basil Power in Sri Lankan politics. This Basil included familarchy, where nothing of power goes out of the family, is making huge milestones in all aspects of governance. The swearing in of Basil Rajapaksa, as Minister of Finance, was clearly a very warm family affair at the President’s Office. The Rajapaksa Familarchy are certainly the rulers of this Monarchy of Power that Sri Lanka has been taken into.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Yeti official drinks partner of SL Squash
The 2021 season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) has been postponed, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Friday (July 9). So we have thought the postponement was the best solution at this stage,” said an official involved in the league. We thank the SLC, Sri Lankan Government, players, franchisees, and sponsors for their support,” said Mr. Anil Mohan, Founder, and CEO of IPG. (Cricbuzz)**********************************************************************The six match limited overs series between India and Sri Lanka could be pushed back by a few days after Batting Coach Grant Flower and Performance Analyst G.T. With all their close contacts forced to go into isolation, Sri Lanka are yet to resume training since arriving from UK.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:22 UTC
Gammanpila explains how CPC ran up loss of 57 billion
The SLPP government appeared to have wrongly recognized the media as an emerging threat and taken measures to neutralize that challenge, Rev Fernando said. Having examined the proceedings of the PSC, the PCoI as well as speeches made in Parliament, Rev. Acknowledging the role played by the social media, Rev Fernando said that those in Parliament shouldn’t be blind to the reality. Rev Fernando also strongly criticized the deployment of police to breakup legitimate protests against the government. Having captured power with a huge mandate, the SLPP government was doing everything on its own to antagonize the public, Rev Fernando said.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:11 UTC
End of the journey of ‘Protector of Delhi’– Dilip Kumar
When I graduated with less than expected results in 2016, the immediate priority was to find a job. Since I had once worked at my school, as a coach, I decided to return to a school as an office assistant. Three weeks later I clocked in as an English copywriter at an advertising agency, where I stayed, and worked, for three years. My fascination with the LRA stemmed mainly from how different my reading preferences were to those of its members. Most of us – by whom I mean most of the country’s readers, Sinhala speaking and reading – tend to read through certain authors and genres as we grow up.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Lowland rice culture since Green Revolution in Sri Lanka
When I graduated with less than expected results in 2016, the immediate priority was to find a job. Since I had once worked at my school, as a coach, I decided to return to a school as an office assistant. Three weeks later I clocked in as an English copywriter at an advertising agency, where I stayed, and worked, for three years. My fascination with the LRA stemmed mainly from how different my reading preferences were to those of its members. Most of us – by whom I mean most of the country’s readers, Sinhala speaking and reading – tend to read through certain authors and genres as we grow up.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:00 UTC
Purchase of 60 per cent of Pan Asia Power shares peps stock market
Compared with 2020, the volume of transactions on digital channels grew by a remarkable 158% Year-on-Year (YoY) in 2021, while the value of digital transactions increased by a corresponding 153% YoY. The results of these efforts are compelling as reflected in the massive uptake in digital payment options- both from customers and businesses,” Niranjan said. Similarly, merchants improved their cashless payment options with HNB MOMO, especially for cash on delivery services. As a result, the mobile solution for electronic payment cards holds a 50% market share in low-cost mobile POS terminals in Sri Lanka. “Developments in cashless payments are still only emerging.
Source:The Nation
July 10, 2021 00:00 UTC