Global language, global ambition
The Ministry has indicated that pilot schools would be set up at provincial level too before English medium instruction is made available islandwide. In the politics of language, English has been elevated to a form of privilege in Sri Lanka and a tool of discrimination. Business in particular must welcome and support the implementation of English medium instruction. Nowhere is the importance of English language proficiency more evident than in the business world: It is the language of international commerce; the primary language of communication and technology; the language of negotiation and collaboration in a globalised world. Eventually, demand will determine the exact share of English medium in Sri Lanka’s education system.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:52 UTC
Petroleum Development Authority Act by September
New Act to attract FDIs into energy sectorBy The Sunday Morning Business DeskThe new Petroleum Development Authority (PDA) Act to replace the existing Petroleum Resources Act No. There has to be a lucrative legal framework and in order to fulfil the requirement, the Ministry thought of formulating an Act,” he added. Cabinet approval to replace the Act was given on 25 January 2021. The Ministry had advised state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to find a potential investor to undertake this project as a public-private partnership (PPP). The investment could be made either by a local or foreign investor, and the project would be a PPP.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:52 UTC
Mitigating Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 education crisis: Priority areas for action
Despite commendable efforts by many countries to put in place alternative remote learning strategies and corrective measures, learning losses have been unavoidable and substantial. Sri Lankan schools have been largely dysfunctional for over 15 months since initial closures in March 2020, despite some brief periods of operation. This blog examines policy responses adopted in Sri Lanka’s education sector over the past year, with a view of informing its future education recovery strategy in 2021 and beyond. Areas for urgent actionThe above discussion suggests that both emergency and recovery measures adopted in Sri Lanka during Covid-19 school closures have worsened existing education inequities. (Ashani Abayasekara is a Research Economist at the IPS with research interests in labour economics, economics of education, development economics, and microeconometrics.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:52 UTC
Deposits under SDA exceed $ 400 m
The special deposit account (SDA), which was announced during the peak of a potential foreign exchange crisis amidst the Covid-19 outbreak last year, has significantly raised more than $ 400 million in deposits as of last week. As of today, the SDA has exceeded $ 400 million of deposits,” the official noted. However, an exact current figure for deposits under the SDA facility could not be obtained, as attempts to reach the Treasury in this regard proved futile. The SDA facility was introduced by the Government on 8 April 2020. With reference to CBSL official statistics, as of 7 October 2020, total deposits in SDAs amounted to approximately $ 272 million.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:52 UTC
Chetan Sakariya’s astonishing call up for SL series: ‘I wish my father had been here to see this’
The 20-member India squad for the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka in July has five new faces. Seven days with father in hospitalLast month Chetan Sakariya lost his father, who had been a tempo driver, due to Covid-19. It was only last January that he lost his younger brother who committed suicide“I wish my father had been here to see this. His performance in half an IPL prompted the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee to pick him for the Sri Lanka tour. I never expected that I will straightaway be picked in the main squad for Sri Lanka.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:18 UTC
Queen's war on Harry and Meghan's LA spin machine
The Queen will no longer remain silent when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allow ‘mistruths’ about the Royal Family to circulate in the public domain, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Harry and Meghan reacted furiously, instructing their lawyers to contest the BBC story, which they described as ‘false and defamatory’. Sources say the Queen’s more robust response to the tsunami of media briefings from allies of the Sussexes will go beyond the Lilibet story. The BBC story, effectively ‘killed’ the New York Post’s account and led, within hours, to the letter from Harry and Meghan’s lawyers. The Palace couldn’t deny the story that this was a mistruth.’ Ironically, Harry has spoken out against the ‘barrage of mistruths’ on social media.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 22:05 UTC
Twelve adventurous staycations to make you happy, fit and healthy
Treehouses from £1,040 for a two-night stay. From £442 for a self-catering two-night stay. From £450 for a two-night stay with breakfast. From £268 for a two-night stay with breakfast. From £224 for a two-night stay including breakfast and dinner, including visit to Bath’s Thermae Spa, and use of the spa facilities.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 21:56 UTC
Facebook fact-checkers could be politically biased, Nick Clegg admits
The former Deputy Prime Minister made the admission to EU officials in November during talks about how the tech giant was tackling misinformation flooding its site. Now, minutes of a meeting between Mr Clegg and a Brussels power-broker reveal how he questioned the ability of the fact-checkers to make impartial decisions. However, the minutes add: 'He [Mr Clegg] also stressed that independent fact-checkers are not necessarily objective because they have their own agenda.' Then in February the tech giant announced it would remove 'false claims on Facebook and Instagram' suggesting that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured. (Above, Mr Clegg and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2019)Mr Clegg's comments come amid mounting concern that Facebook is shutting down public debate.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 21:45 UTC
Nasser Hussain lays into England's peculiar batting approach after New Zealand collapse
Nasser Hussain was heavily critical of England's batting approach against New ZealandIt led Hussain to slate a team who, in spite of coach Chris Silverwood’s mitigation plea of youth, fielded five of their first-choice top six. ‘It was just an abject batting performance,’ said Hussain on Sky Sports. Hussain accused Chris Silverwood (pictured) and co of 'trying to reinvent the wheel'‘In Sri Lanka, Joe Root carried them. Hussain added: ‘Compare them to those of New Zealand, who are committed to orthodox Test match batting. Technically gifted, sound batsmen playing the way the game is supposed to be played, New Zealand.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 21:45 UTC
All Things Fashion With Kosh
Kosh started his journey in fashion when he was between 13 and 15 years old, alongside his mother, who was a bridal designer, fashion stylist, and hair and makeup artist. He was awarded Best Designer Of The Year in 2015 and also showcased his designs at the Asian European Fashion Week in Paris, where he was the youngest fashion designer to earn the opportunity. I used to volunteer for the Colombo Fashion Week backstage, basically I was helping models to change and get ready for the show. My journey in fashion started from my family and there’s another woman who actually inspired me with her smile and her outfits – Princess Diana. What is your opinion on the fashion industry in Sri Lanka at the moment, both in terms of designers and models?
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 21:11 UTC
Blue Origin auctions a rocket trip to space with Bezos
While the funds raised from the event are earmarked for charity, Blue Origin is hoping to galvanize enthusiasm for its nascent suborbital tourism business. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, as well as Musk's SpaceX, have also discussed using their rockets to link far-flung global cities. In sending tourists to space, Bezos has beaten Richard Branson and Elon Musk and their firms, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX to the punch. Jeff started building Blue Origin in 2000, we started building Virgin Galactic in 2004 & now both are opening up access to Space - how extraordinary! The capsule is designed with the iconic Blue Origin feather across the exterior and inside are six reclining seats that mirror those inside a helicopter.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 18:56 UTC
Sharing ‘fake news’ on social media: Government warns of re-enacting criminal defamation
Arrestees confessed to acting on instructions: KeheliyaSpeaks of technologies to monitor social mediaBASL concerned over Police misuse of circular, cognisable offenceWeb journos highlight N-E suppression, coverup of Government’s sinsFMM seeks clarity on ‘fake news’ definitionBy Yoshita PereraBy sharing fake news on social media networks, some people are pushing the country towards re-enacting the criminal defamation law which was repealed in 2002, the Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. He said this on Friday (11) while responding to The Sunday Morning’s query on the conflict which would arise with the exercise of the freedom of expression when arrests are made for the purported cognisable offence of sharing fake news on social media. “We can see that within this censorship, the Government is trying to suppress social media that is a social platform for criticism. However, through this restriction, the Government is trying to put the law forward and control the rising surge of social media against the offences committed by the Government,” he said. Sharing her views on the Government’s move to criminalise fake news, the Free Media Movement Convenor Seetha Ranjani said that the problem lies in how to define fake news and on what basis something would be considered fake news.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 18:05 UTC
WHO Variants of Concern: Two out of four in SL
“The Alpha variant is 50% more transmissible than the naturally occurring non-mutated wild type strain of the virus. In terms of the Delta variant, it has been shown to be more transmissible than the Alpha variant. Supporting this with an example, he highlighted the case of Sri Lanka’s own B.1.411 variant, which was a mutation of the Covid-19 virus first detected in Tissamaharama. According to Dr. Jeewandara, the current surge in cases can be attributed to the B.1.1.7 Alpha variant of Covid-19. When questioned about certain media reports which were circulating recently about the identification of a new airborne Covid-19 variant, Dr. Jeewandara dismissed such claims as false.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 17:37 UTC
SL yet to learn of delivery date : US’s Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
SPC General Manager Dinusha Dassanayake told The Sunday Morning that although Sri Lanka has been included in the list of countries to receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses from the US, they have yet to confirm any delivery dates. Last week, US President Joe Biden had pledged to share 80 million vaccine doses with other countries, with most of those to be distributed by Covax, a global alliance of multilateral agencies. At present, Sri Lanka is struggling to secure at least 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India to administer as the second dose. It has already administered over 900,000 with Covishield, but only around 350,000 people have received both the vaccine doses. On 9 June, the President’s office announced that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had requested Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to provide 600,000 doses of the Covishield vaccine.
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 17:37 UTC
Carrie Johnson dons a cobalt blue suit at the G7 summit in Cornwall
By Hayley Richardson For MailonlinePublished: 12:41 EDT, 12 June 2021 | Updated: 12:52 EDT, 12 June 2021Carrie Johnson swapped her floral frocks for business chic today, sporting a stylish cobalt blue suit for day two of the G7 summit in Cornwall. The new wife of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 33, showed off her style prowess in the sculpted slim fitting £595 jacket and £395 flared trousers, both by Amanda Wakeley. Both are currently listed on My Wardrobe HQ, the clothing rental site which Carrie used to hire her stunning Christos Costarellos wedding dress, priced at £80 apiece. Jill said it was 'wonderful' to spend time with Carrie, insisting the 'special relationship' between the US and the UK 'continues'. Carrie Johnson (pictured with her husband) showcased her style prowess in a floral gown by The Vampire's Wife
Source:The Nation
June 12, 2021 17:03 UTC