Daily COVID infections count climbs to 2,205
The Health Ministry says 820 more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 today (June 23) increasing the daily count of positive cases to 2,205. All new cases reported within the day have been associated with the New Year cluster. This brings the tally of confirmed infections of coronavirus reported in the country so far to 246,091. As many as 211,186 recoveries and 2,769 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. According to official data, more than 32,000 active cases are currently under medical care at designated hospitals and treatment centres.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 16:07 UTC
Coronavirus death toll up by 65 fatalities
June 23, 2021 08:40 pmThe Director General of Health Services has confirmed 65 more COVID-19 related fatalities that have occurred yesterday (June 21). The new development has pushed the official death toll due to the virus in Sri Lanka to 2769. According to the data released by the Department of Government Information, the new victims confirmed today include 25 females and 40 males. Two of them is aged below 30 years, ten victims are between 30-59 years and the remaining 53 are aged 60 and above.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 15:45 UTC
Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui rejected a 'dizzying' offer from Tottenham
By Pa Sport StaffPublished: 09:27 EDT, 23 June 2021 | Updated: 09:48 EDT, 23 June 2021Sevilla president Jose Castro says Tottenham made a 'dizzying' offer to Julen Lopetegui to become their new head coach, but he is happy at the Spanish club. In an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena SER, which was published on Sevilla's official website, Castro said: 'Julen rang me and told me. He said he'd received offers he'd not listened to in addition to a dizzying one from Tottenham. They also held talks with Pochettino, who was keen on a return to Spurs, but Paris Saint-Germain activated a one-year extension to his contract. Conte then appeared set for the Spurs job following his departure from Inter Milan before talks with the former Chelsea manager also broke down.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 14:02 UTC
We can save this country - Health Minister
Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi says she has given directives to impose severe penalties on individuals who violate health guidelines imposed to control the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister said that it would be difficult to save the country from the pandemic if such severe punishments are not meted out. She added that the Sri Lanka Police and the Ministry of Health would work together to enforce the law in this regard. We can save this country. We were able to do that in the first COVID-19 wave.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 13:52 UTC
Inside the mind of a cyber criminal
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 23, 2021/ — Cyber criminals come in many different flavours, but the majority of them are in it for one thing: financial pay-off. They want the money that comes with offering their tools or services, selling stolen data, extortion like ransomware or plain fraud. “This level of attack really underscores how important it is to undertake consistent employee training and security skills development,” says Collard. Public Wi-Fi is wide open and home networks with poor passwords or out of date software are open doors. Organisations have to sit on the sharp end of the security stick with robust monitoring and detection systems, clear policies, consistent training and security boundaries.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 12:22 UTC
Keheliya unaware of alleged Chinese Military boots on SL soil
By Aazam AmeenCabinet Spokesperson and Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella is unaware of the alleged presence of what appears to be personnel attached to China’s People’s Liberation Army at the launch of a Chinese Joint Venture to dredge the Tissamaharama Wewa, The Morning learnt. When The Morning asked Minister Rambukwella if he had any understanding of the presence of Chinese military boots on Sri Lankan soil, he stated that to his knowledge, he did not know about the same. “This project is being handled by the Honorable Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister of Irrigation. I really do not know about the entire of those persons pictured. Despite The Morning’s repeated attempts to contact Minister of Irrigation Chamal Rajapaksa over this matter, they proved to be futile.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 07:07 UTC
78,000 doses of Pfizer to arrive in July
June 23, 2021 12:19 pmState Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) has purchased 78,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana stated. The purchased vaccines are to be delivered to Sri Lanka in 03 consignments, he said. Accordingly, the vaccines will arrive in the country within the first 3 weeks of July, with 26,000 doses per week.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 06:22 UTC
Ranil sworn in as Member of Parliament
June 23, 2021 10:39 amFormer Prime Minister and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as a Member of the Parliament. He took oaths before Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at the parliamentary session today (June 23). Wickremesinghe was named for the National List seat of the UNP after a prolonged period of not naming a candidate for the vacancy. Wickremesinghe was nominated at the party’s Working Committee meeting recently, following several rounds of discussions on the matter.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 05:03 UTC
Postal Dept. records highest daily earnings of Rs. 280 Million
COLOMBO (News 1st): The highest daily earnings in the history of Sri Lanka’s Postal Department was recorded on Tuesday (Jun. 280 million on Tuesday (22), Post Master General Ranjith Ariyaratne told News 1st. Furthermore, the total income of the Postal Department in the last 21-days has topped over Rs. 220 million, the Post Master General noted. The Postal Department has earned this revenue through bill payments for 18 institutions including the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB).
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 03:33 UTC
India declares new Delta plus a variant of concern
India on Tuesday declared the Delta plus variant of COVID-19 as a variant of concern and also issued an advisory to 3 states, Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh where this strain has been detected in 22 samples, to take immediate measures to curb its spread. INSACOG, a network of 28 laboratories in the country, has attached Delta plus variant with increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response, the Union health ministry announced. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Monday had said the spread of Delta plus variant had been detected in 6-7 districts in the state but the Centre on Tuesday associated just two districts in the state with the variant. Scientists working with INSACOG explained that the new Delta plus variant has been formed due to further mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India which was largely responsible for the ferocious second COVID wave in the country. “There is an indication that Delta plus variant may be more apt to cause severe COVID19 and is also looking better designed to evade monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for the infectious disease—these facts definitely are causing a lot of anxiety,” said an expert.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 03:11 UTC
Eleven more localities in 2 districts isolated from today
Eleven more localities were isolated with effect from 6.00 am today (June 23), the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO) announced. According to the head of NOCPCO, Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, isolation orders were issued on 10 localities in Batticaloa District and another in Trincomalee District. Trincomalee DistrictTrincomalee Police Area• Nagaraja Walawwa areaBatticaloa DistrictValacchenai Police Area• 1st Cross Street, Brainthurachenai 206• 2nd Cross Street, Brainthurachenai 206Kattankudy Police Area• Kattankudy 04• Kattankudy South• Kattankudy 05• New Kattankudy East• New Kattankudy North• New Kattankudy South• Karabala Road, A.L.S. Mawatha, Nuraniya Cemetery and Beach Road
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 02:06 UTC
Government has no plans to increase gas prices at the moment
Cabinet Spokesman, Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella stated that the Government has no plans to increase the gas prices at the moment. He stated this yesterday (22) at the cabinet decision media briefing held at the Department of Government Information. The Minister mentioned that at present two programs are being implemented by the Government in relation to this; one is to advance the procurement system within controls, or if there are uncontrollable factors in the world market, the government has discussed measures that should be taken in this regard.
Source:The Nation
June 23, 2021 00:45 UTC
Victoria Beckham shares hilarious throwback snap ahead of England's Euro 2020 decider
Victoria Beckham continued to provide her fans with 'quality football content' on Tuesday as she shared another hilarious throwback snap ahead of England's Euro 2020 tie against Czech Republic. The post was captioned: 'Really excited for tonight's game @England. Loved-up: The designer shared the snap of herself watching from the stands ahead of England's latest match against the Czech Republic (pictured with her husband David in May)Getting into the spirit! The pair had headed to the stadium to watch the highly-anticipated game, which resulted in England drawing 0-0 with Scotland in their second Euro 2020 match. Back in the day: Mel C was a band member alongside David's wife Victoria in the Spice Girls'I wanted to contribute!'
Source:The Nation
June 22, 2021 22:01 UTC
10 Video Game Soundtracks That Will Increase Your Productivity
But it turns out that video game tunes could be the perfect background music when you need to focus. As this Reddit post points out, video game music is usually instrumental, so it’s less intrusive, and it’s specifically composed to keep you focused and motivated. This NPR radio segment from 2014 explains that video game composers are often classically-trained musicians who apply the same techniques to their work as any classical composer. To save you the effort, I’ve put together a list of 10 of my favorite video game soundtracks to listen to while you write, or study, or draw, or whatever it is you do. If you’re a fan of RPGs, video game music, or just video games generally, chances are you’ve heard its most iconic tracks.
Source:The Nation
June 22, 2021 21:56 UTC
DAVID BLUNKETT: Today's poor white children are NOT privileged
The MPs were particularly scathing about damage done to white children's state of mind by the trendy phrase 'white privilege'. Of course, this is not a zero-sum game, whereby non-white advancement must come at the disadvantage of white children. Until we break the intergenerational cycle of lack of ambition, poorer white children will still fail. Race campaigners say white privilege is the everyday benefit white people enjoy over other ethnicities due to systemic racism. And Labour MP Diane Abbott said: 'Their attack on the term white privilege is designed to cause division.
Source:The Nation
June 22, 2021 21:56 UTC