News

Venerable Muruththettuwe Ananda Thero's appointment as the new Chancellor of the University of Colombo has been confirmed.

Accordingly, the Thera is set to assume duties as the new Chancellor of the University of Colombo from November 17, 2021.

Nineteen Covid-19 related deaths were confirmed yesterday (29), say health authorities.

The country death toll has now risen to 13,725.

Twelve men and seven women are the latest victims.

Meanwhile, another 428 persons tested positive for the virus, taking the cases tally to 539,844.

There is a risk of A30, the new Covid variant discovered in many countries of the world unresponsive to the vaccines, entering Sri Lanka and this could be catastrophic for a country like ours, warned Upul Rohana, President of the Public Health Inspectors Association.

No predications can be made that this new variant will not breach the island in the event that almost all the Covid variants discovered in the world were found in Sri Lanka, he noted, warning that the prevalence of such a variant could be very high given the current adherence to the health guidelines.

A special gazette notification has been issued declaring several institutions including ports, fuel, postal transport and Government banks as essential services.

The gazette, which was issued by the Secretary to the President, has been issued considering the possibility of any hindrances or disruptions in the provision of such services and as well as taking into account the facts mentioned in the guidelines issued by the Director General of Health Services on COVID-19 prevention.

Accordingly, Public Corporations, Government Departments, Local Authorities, Co-operative Societies or State Banks have been declared as essential services.

Essential services also include services related to the Ports Authority and all services related to fuel disposal, transportation, landing, all fuel supply and distribution including petroleum products and liquefied petroleum products, rail freight and public transport services provided by the Transport Board.

SJB MP Harin Fernando speaking to media on the occasion of opening the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Head Office in Wattala today (01) said he is ready to step back from his parliamentary membership for former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, should President Gotabaya Rajapaksa choose to release him from prison.

Claiming himself to be someone who can fight on the road, MP Fernando added that Ramanayake, on the other hand, must be in Parliament.

“I realised one thing in life. You have to get used to giving up. I love Mr. John Amaratunga very much. But he took the seat on October 28, 1978, my birthday. Today, someone comes to Wattala after 42 years. If I was to stay for 40 years, no kid in Wattala will ever come. Therefore, I thought that the old system should be changed. Not much of a difference can be made if you are above 60. I will not be able to do anything. I have to produce three or four more kids from Wattala while I serve with what I can. The son of an innocent mom of this village should be able to go to Parliament. It should not be from just a class. Also, I am making another statement today that Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa can do it if he wants. I – if you choose to as I have a national list seat – am ready to step back from my national list seat if Ranjan Ramanayake can be released. I one time stepped back from my seat, but if a national list seat is relinquished, Mr. Sajith Premadasa or the Secretary General can appoint anyone to that seat. Nobody tells that Ranjan Ramanayake is not suitable for the MP post. Therefore, I know I can fight on the road, but Ranjan must be in Parliament, I would like to remind,” Fernando said.

All school in Sri Lanka will re-open for Grade 10, 11, 12 and 13 from 8th November, announced the Education Ministry on Saturday (30).

Earlier, the Health Ministry also granted permission to re-commence tuition classes for O/L & A/L students from the 16th of November with 50% capacity.

A total of 17 more COVID-19 related deaths that occurred yesterday (31) were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services today pushing the death toll to 13,760.

According to the Government Information Department, 06 females and 11 males are among the deceased.

A total of 11 people who are above 60 years of age are among the deceased while 06 of them are between 30 and 59 years of age.

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 10 coronavirus related deaths for October 28, increasing the country’s death toll due to the virus to 13,706.

According to the figures released by the Govt. Information Department, the deaths reported today include 07 males and 03 females.

Five of the deceased are between the ages 30-59 and the remaining five are aged 60 and above.

Marine Traffic websites have confirmed that the Hippo Spirit vessel, also sailing as Seiyo Explorer, has entered the Sea of Sri Lanka.

The ship is now located close to the Hambantota Port.

The Hippo Spirit is carrying tonnes of rejected Chinese Fertilizer from Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd to Sri Lanka.

Earlier, it is reported that the Hippo Spirit, the ship carrying Chinese Organic Fertilizer, did not return to China after the first samples were rejected by Sri Lanka.

Instead, the Hippo Spirit had sailed to Singapore and altered its course back to Sri Lanka, without returning to China.

On the 22nd of September, the Hippo Spirit ship carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of organic fertilizer left for Colombo from China’s Qingdao Port.

But the ship was diverted to Singapore after harmful bacteria was detected in the samples of this fertilizer shipment.

The Hippo Spirit ship that didn’t return to China had left Singapore declaring it would be heading to the Colombo Port.

But on the 14th of this month, the automatic identification system (AIS) used to track the ship had been deactivated at the Malakka Strait.

Vessel trackers showed the last position of the ship as the Malakka Strait before it went out of range.

Data available online showed the Hippo Spirit ship in Hambantota on the 24th of this month under the name Seiyo Explorer.

The Hippo Spirit and the Seiyo Explorer both share the same IMO number, and therefore it can be confirmed the Hippo Spirit is the Seioy Explorer.

The IMO Ship Identification Number is a unique seven-digit number that remains unchanged through a vessel’s lifetime and is linked to its hull, regardless of any changes of names, flags, or owners.

Although the ship was seen in Sri Lanka’s waters off the Hambantota District on the 24th of this month, the ship has gone out of range on tracking systems.

But on Sunday (31), marine traffic websites confirmed that the ship has entered the Sea of Sri Lanka and is now located close to the Hambantota Port.

News1st

The inter-province travel restrictions presently in force will be lifted at 4.00 am on 31 October, said the President’s Media Division today (29).

The decision was taken at a meeting of the COVID-19 Prevention Committee, chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Measures to reopen schools for GCE ordinary and advanced level students also came under discussion.

The possibility of making it mandatory to possess the vaccination card when visiting public places was discussed as well.

A SriLankan Airlines flight departed for Paris early this morning (31) making the resumption of direct flights between Sri Lanka and France after six years.

According to the Tourism Ministry, flight UL 563 from Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake took off at 1.00 am for Charles de Gaulle Airport.

SriLankan will fly between Katunayake and Paris every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

The first direct flights between Sri Lanka and France were launched in the 1980s. Later in 2015, these direct flights were discontinued.

The Ministry said that SriLankan Airlines has launched direct flights to various destinations around the world on the instructions of Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and steps were taken to launch direct flights to a number of new destinations in the future.

The Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has decided to blacklist the People's Bank of Sri Lanka.

The office said that People's Bank had recently failed to make the payment according to the Letter of Credit and the contracts between two parties, which had caused huge losses to Chinese companies in international trade.

Accordingly, the People's Bank has been included in the blacklist and Chinese companies have been instructed not to accept letters of credit issued by the People's Bank in trade with Sri Lanka.

People's Bank is one of the two major banks that issue letters of credit for imports. The inclusion of the bank in the blacklist will have a severe impact not only on imports from China but also on imports from other countries.

Suppliers in many countries, including India, are refusing to supply goods to Sri Lanka on letters of credit already, and this situation will continue to worsen in the future.

The news published by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy