News

The total number of people who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka moved up as 15 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Wednesday (November 03).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,806.

The latest victims include 08 males and 07 females, the Department of Government Information said.

According to official data, 12 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 03 people aged between 30-59 years have also fallen victim to the virus infection.

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.

The government has decided to remove the price control imposed on sugar, State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna said.

Through a Gazette notifications, the government had declared maximum retail prices for sugar and rice with effect from September 02.

The maximum retail price (MRP) of White Sugar was declared as Rs. 122 per kg (Unpacketed) and Rs. 125 per kg (Packeted) while the MRP of Brown or Red Sugar was set as Rs. 125 per kg (Unpacketed) and Rs. 128 per kg (Packeted).

The Cabinet of Ministers on September 27 had decided to remove the price control imposed on rice. Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) had then revoked the gazette notification which specified Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) on rice.

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.

The total number of people who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka moved up as 21 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Tuesday (November 02).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,791.

The latest victims include 06 males and 15 females, the Department of Government Information said.

According to official data, 16 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 05 people aged between 30-59 years have also fallen victim to the virus infection.

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.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna must ensure that unity amongst its allies is protected, as they fought for the same cause.

Speaking at the SLPPs fifth National Convention in Colombo on Tuesday (2), Rajapaksa said the SLPP always advocated peace, a quality that it inherited from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, adding that the size of a party does not matter, and what matters is the objective.

“These parties were with us when the times were tough and they moved with us. They are not the crutches of the SLPP. Therefore, all parties must unite, and making that happen is our responsibility,” Rajapaksa told the convention.

Further, Rajapaksa recalled the sacrifices made by those who contributed towards the SLPP’s historic success and honored them in his comments to the convention.

“Even when are charged, we never took steps to organize rallies to panic the public and we never wanted to keep the people in darkness,” he added in response to the present protests and trade union actions.

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 Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 10 more coronavirus-related deaths for November 01, pushing the death toll in the country due to the virus to 13,770.

This includes 05 males and 05 female patients, according to the Department of Government Information.

One of the victims is aged between 30-59 years while 08 others are aged 60 years and above. The remaining victim is a female aged below 30 years.

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.

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.