News Scan for Oct 13, 2022

COLOMBO (News 1st) – An audit report has revealed that a total of 158 million rupees for three years had been allocated for the drafting of a new constitution when the economy of the country was heading towards a downturn. The Auditor General's report revealed that a total of 20.8 million rupees had been spent to hold 38 meetings of the expert committee and 9 consultations with external parties to draft a new constitution from the 9th of October 2020 to the 12th of December 2021. The details were revealed in the Auditor General's report of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Reform for the year ending 31st December 2021. A sum of 816,480 rupees had been spent for 3 office spaces that have not been used, and another 435,348 rupees had been spent to furnish those offices. Each constitutional expert on the committee to draft the new constitution WAS paid 25,000 rupees for every meeting that they attended which came up to a total of 3.1 million. The constitutional experts were also paid 120,000 rupees for their transport. A total of 10 million 180,000 rupees had been spent for the payment of the monthly allowance of 200,000 rupees to the secretary of the panel, the allowance for the research assistant, and several other allowances. 4,768,000 rupees had been spent during the period from October 2020 to December 2021 for office space at the BMICH. The Auditor General's report further states that although by the 31st of December 2021 the committee had completed 15 months, they had still not completed their task. 

GMB viewers were concerned when Kate Garraway was absent from the show on Friday morning.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Dengue Control Unit noted that multiple areas across seven provinces in Sri Lanka have been declared at Dengue High-Risk Zones.According to the latest data from the National Dengue Control Unit attached to the Ministry of Health Piliyandala, Homagama, Maharagama, Pitakotte, Kaduwela and Gothatuwa areas in the Colombo District have been declared as Dengue High-Risk Zones.13 MOH areas in the Gampaha District including Attanagalle, Biyagama, Divulaptiya, Ja-Ela, and Kelaniya have been declared as  Dengue High-Risk Zones.The Beruwala and Kalutara MOH areas in the Kalutara District are also Dengue High-Risk Zones.Three MOH areas in the Kandy District also are Dengue High-Risk Zones, while the same number exists in the North and Eastern provinces.Sri Lanka has recorded over 63,500 dengue cases so far in 2022, and a majority of these cases are from the Western Province.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – In recent months people were gunned down by mysterious shooters and concerns were raised on matters like how did these criminals get their hands on such weapons and who owned them.On Thursday (10) night, Sri Lanka Police arrested a man for the possession of weapons and ammunition prepared to be used in a crime in Deenagoda, Beruwala.The man was arrested close to the Berwala Railway Station for suspicious behaviour and based on the information extracted during questioning his house was searched, where the weapons and ammunition were discovered.Sri Lanka Police said they discovered a Repeater Shotgun, a 0.22 mm firearm, and a locally manufactured weapon.Police said that the locally manufactured firearm has been upgraded to be used as a sniper rifle with laser targetting.In addition, Sri Lanka Police said that the barrel used for this weapon was manufactured in Germany and was modified to fit 0.22 mm bullets.In addition to these three weapons 101 bullets compatible with a 12-bore shotgun, and 489 .022 mm bullets were found in the possession of the 49-year-old suspect.In 2018, the suspect was arrested by police on weapons manufacturing charges.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Attorney Nuwan Bopage was named as the 59th suspect in the case filed in court for illegally entering the President's House in Colombo.Upon considering the submissions made by the Colombo Central Crimes Investigation Bureau the Fort Chief Magistrate ordered to name the Attorney as a suspect.Attorney Nuwan Bopage is one who repeatedly represented Wasantha Mudalige and Venerable Galwewa Siridhamma Thero who are detained under the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two business associates of a sanctioned al-Qa’ida financial facilitator and external operations plotter. The two individuals designated today are Mohamad Irshad Mohamad Haris Nizar and Musab Turkmen, who conducted businesses activities to assist Ahmed Luqman Talib (Talib), who was previously designated by OFAC for facilitating the international movement of individuals and finances in furtherance of al-Qa’ida’s objectives. Australian authorities arrested Talib on March 25, 2021, and days later charged him with plotting incursions into foreign states for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities.“Treasury is taking this action to further disrupt a transnational al-Qa’ida financial facilitation and operational plotting network,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Seven newly appointed Ambassadors and a High Commissioner to Sri Lanka presented their credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (11).Accordingly, His Excellency Mr. Federico Salas Lotfe, the Mexican Ambassador to Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mr.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Authorities in Vietnam have reported that the skipper of the large migrant boat that was rescued by its Navy was not among those who were rescued.Vietnam media quoting the rescued Sri Lankans reported that the captain of the iron-hulled ship LADY R3 abandoned the boat after it started drifting at sea, and then did not return.A border guard commander of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province had also confirmed the information.A Sri Lankan man had reportedly said that his group had traveled from Sri Lanka to Myanmar and from there they had boarded the LADY R3 boat to travel to Canada by sea.It is unclear if all 303 Sri Lankans traveled together or in groups to Myanmar, and how they made it to Myanmar, as investigations are pending.Before 303 Sri Lankan citizens were rescued by the Helios Leader Vessel on the afternoon of November 6th, their ship had been stalled for nearly 40 hours, unable to maneuver and was drifting freely. On the afternoon of November 8th, when the SAR 413 vessel from the Vietnamese Coast Guard organized to welcome the 303 Sri Lankan citizens from the Helios Leader vessel to shore, initially four men got off the ship, the rest refused to get off despite the persuasion of the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka, who took an entire hour to pursuade them to leave the Japanese freighter.At this time, the authorities considered the option for these four people to return to the Helios Leader, but they refused and said that if they returned, they would be beaten. Thereafter, all 303 Sri Lankans were taken off the Helios Leader in batches and brought ashore.For humanitarian reasons, the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Provincial Command for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue has arranged for 303

Lanarkshire charity EK Dementia Carers Group has revealed it is under intense pressure post-pandemic as it fights to continue to provide a much-needed service to the local community amid the current cost of living crisis.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Sri Lanka Police Special Task Force arrested a 27-year-old man from Thamankaduwa, Gallella for possessing 118 stones believed to be gems.The STF said that the raid was carried out on the Akkaraipattu main road following an intelligence tip received by the officials of the Kalavanchikudi camp.Therefore, 188 stones of various colours suspected to be gems were seized from the possession of the suspect.In addition, a Gemstone Testing and Identification device were taken into custody.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Several civil organizations visited the Chinese Embassy in Colombo to request China to support Sri Lanka's debt restructuring efforts.However, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo reportedly refused to accept the letter from the civil organizations.The Liberal Democratic Youth Collective, The Sarvapakshika Aragalakaruwo (A movement formed after the people's struggle) and several other groups visited the Chinese Embassy in Colombo to request China to support Sri Lanka's debt restructuring efforts.Sri Lanka Police did not allow the activists to approach the Embassy and hand over the letter.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A Sri Lankan court on Friday (11) imposed a travel ban on State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage.The Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered to prevent the State Minister from travelling overseas until the 17th of December 2022.The case filed against the citizenship of the State Minister was called up via a motion that was filed by Attorney Gunaratna Wanninayake and several other counsels.On Thursday (10) the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court ordered the OIC of the Criminal Investigations Department to immediately investigate whether State Minister Diana Gamage is remaining in Sri Lanka without a valid visa, and submit a progress report to the court on the 15th of December.Attorney Gunaratna Wanninayake told reporters outside the court that attempts were made earlier to undermine this investigation.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne during an inspection visit made to the CSD Headquarters in Katubedda on Thursday (10) noted that in addition to the three-armed forces and the police, the Civil Security Department (CSD) also contributed a lot for the dawn of peace, that the people rejoice today.The Defence Secretary while addressing CSD staffers recalled the hardships experienced during the conflict also mentioned the dedicated service rendered by the former CSD members during the battle to eradicate terrorism from the island.  “Those pointed their finger towards the armed forces during the recent turmoil weren’t aware of the hardships their parents had gone through during terrorist war”, he said citing several recent incidents.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that 60,000 MT of coal was imported to the country on Thursday (10) and unloading will take place on Friday (11).CEB Spokesperson Andrew Navamuni said the shipment of coal was from South Africa and so far three coal shipments have reached the country in recent weeks.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagley and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung were seen at the Lanka IOC Terminals in Trincomalee together accompanied by diplomatic staff on Thursday (10).The Indian High Commission in Colombo said that the diplomats were welcomed by the staff at Lanka IOC who briefed the two diplomats on its operations that contribute to energy security of Sri Lanka.The Indian High Commissioner also flagged off the first delivery of Lanka Super Diesel from the Trinco Terminal for Sri Lankan market. 

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Fertilizer Office says that a cargo vessel carrying 22,000 MT of fertilizer is scheduled to arrive in the country from Malaysia next week.The Director of the National Fertilizer Office Chandana Lokuge says that the relevant fertilizer will be used for the maha season cultivationEarlier, 13,000 MT of Urea fertilizer was brought to Sri Lanka and the relevant fertilizer was distributed to farmers across the country.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced in Parliament yesterday (10) that special security arrangements as done in previous years will be implemented in connection with the Budget speech for the year 2023 to be made by the Minister of Finance on Monday the 14th of November 2022.Accordingly, today (11) the entire Parliament building including the restrooms and wardrobes of the Members of Parliament will be subjected to security inspection.On the 14th, when the budget is presented in Parliament, galleries will be restricted only to the Diplomatic Corps. As the Members’ car park will be kept closed on this day the vehicles of the Members will be directed to the relevant Car Parks. The Speaker also requested the Members of Parliament to arrive in Parliament on that day in a Chauffeur-driven vehicle as far as possible. The speaker also informed that Valet parking of the self-driven vehicles of the Members of Parliament will be attended to by the Chauffeurs of the Parliament Staff who will be deployed at the Members’ Entrance.In addition, special traffic arrangements will be adopted by the Traffic Police and the nearest Police Stations in the area on this day. The speaker also informed that the cooperation of all Members of Parliament is kindly expected towards the aforementioned special security arrangements.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A special meeting was held in Parliament to discuss the draft bill for the establishment of the Budget Office of the Parliament.The special meeting was attended by the Party leaders and members of the Committee on Parliamentary Business.    The Members of Parliament who were present had a lengthy discussion on the draft bill related to the establishment of the budget office of the parliament. Also, it was decided to meet again in two weeks after further study of this bill.

New research from the American Psychological Association (APA) shows that various state restrictions and lockdowns imposed during the first 6 months of the pandemic were not related to worsening mental health. The study is published in Health Psychology.The research was based on data collected from a survey of

A woman looks at a screen displaying a video of an international climbing competition is Seoul, South Korea, during which Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competes without a hijab, in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on Oct. 18, 2022.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Cabinet of Ministers have approved a proposal to raise the Government's debt ceiling for the year 2022. Speaking at the Cabinet decisions press conference on Tuesday (18), Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said that the country currently can only take debt to the limit whic the Parliament hsa set, which is Rs.

Previous non-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection was tied to a 44% lower risk of Omicron reinfection and 81% lower odds of related hospitalization, which was further improved by one, two, or three mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses (86%, 94%, and 97%, respectively), according to a study published late last week in JAMA Network Open.Canadian researchers conducted a test-negative case-control study of

Kerala government has intensified the preventive measures to control the entry or spread of new variants of the virus. Kerala Health Minister Veena George stated on Monday that two new variants of Covid-19 - XBB and XBB1 - are more contagious than the previous ones.

COLOMBO (News st) – Sri Lanka recorded over 49,100 dengue cases so far in 2022.The Health Ministry said that a total of 49,149 dengue patients were reported and a majority of 10,227 cases were reported from the Colombo District.6,598 dengue cases were reported from the Gampaha District, and another 3,272 dengue cases were reported from the Kalutara District.The highest number of dengue cases were reported in the month of July, which is 11,248 cases.In October 2022, a total of 586 cases were reported, said the Health Ministry.Also visit :  

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 13: General view during Toys"R"Us Grand Opening at Macy's Herald Square on October 13, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy's, Inc.) Toys R Us has found second life as new in-store locations have opened in select Macy’s department stores across the country and celebrating with nine days of free events. The toy store giant filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and closed all locations in 2018 as the brick-and-mortar locations suffered declining sales.

Selective-focus image of a long row of red Target shopping cars in the parking lot of a Target department store in Dublin, California, May 21, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) For years, major retailers like Walmart and Target opened their doors on Thanksgiving, giving shoppers a head start on Black Friday madness or a place to buy last-minute items for the dinner table. The pandemic has led to a change in that trend.In 2020, companies announced they were closing their stores on Thanksgiving to give overworked retail workers some much-needed rest.

Covid infections in the UK have jumped 31 per cent in 10 days, according to the latest data, with most of the country now seeing a steady increase in virus levels. Experts are warning that the rise is particularly notable among the elderly population.

Plant-based Beyond Meat products seen in a Target superstore. (Photo by Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) The Beyond Meat executive charged with biting a man's nose during a fight last month left the plant-based meat company Friday amid a larger round of job cuts as the company seeks tries to offset a decline in sales.Doug Ramsey, a former Tyson Foods executive who joined Beyond Meat as its chief operating officer late last year, was charged with felony battery and making a terroristic threat after a Sept.

Monmouth University shows the majority of Americans, about 61%, would get rid of the twice yearly time change, while about a third want to keep the practice in place.Most people who want a single time year-round would rather have a later sunrise and a later sunset, which would make daylight saving time permanent. Only 13% of people polled favor keeping standard time, the period from November to March.Lawmakers are catching up to the notion of eliminating the time change.

Police patrol car with sirens off during a traffic control. via Getty Images Two men are facing attempted murder charges after an apparent road rage incident ended with a shootout.The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in Florida said William Hale, 35, and Frank Allison, 43, have both been charged after the road rage incident on Saturday, Oct.

PHILADELPHIA - Leonard Castellanos says it has been wonderful to watch his grandson Nick Castellanos play for the Philadelphia Phillies. That's what he told FOX 29's Chris O'Connell at Truist Park in Georgia ahead of the National League Division Series second game, where the Phillies took on the Atlanta Braves. As Chris navigated the stadium in the rain, he encountered Leonard, a lone Phillies fan in a sea of Braves gear. Leonard then identified himself as the relative of a player before detailing what the experience has been like watching his grandson. "He's one of several grandkids, but at this level, this is unbelievable," he said.

FILE - Boxes of Eggo Waffles sit for sale at the Metropolitan Citymarket on Feb. 19, 2014, in the East Village neighborhood of New York City.

A study of 30 million people in the United Kingdom finds that 0.4% of people who completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series had severe breakthrough infections, compared with 0.2% of booster recipients, during Omicron variant predominance.The study, published today in The Lancet, also shows that older adults

Dennis Kim of Pruitt's Seafood sorts Alaska Snow Crabs (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) Alaska officials have canceled the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, and for the first time, have also scrapped the winter harvest of smaller snow crab.The move is a double whammy to a fleet from Alaska, Washington and Oregon chasing Bering Sea crab in harvests that in 2016 grossed $280 million, The Seattle Times reported. According to CBS News, an estimated 1 billion crabs have disappeared, a 90% drop in population.The closures reflect conservation concerns about both crab species following bleak summer populations surveys.

Khloe Kardashian has given an update on her health after revealing her tumor ordeal.Earlier this week, the Good American designer opened up about why she had been sporting a bandage on her cheek, after sparking concern.In a series of posts, the 38-year-old explained that she had a tumor removed from her face, insisting that she was in the ‘healing process’.During a live-tweeting session for the new episode of the Kardashians, she was questioned on how she is feeling now.The mom-of-two replied: ‘Baby!!!!! I’m good!! I swear!! Super grateful that I’m healthy and that I have a lifetime supply of bandaids.‘Seriously im ok. The worst is over and now its time to be haaaaapppppy #TheKardashians [sic].’Baby!!!!! Iâm good!! I swear!! Super grateful that Iâm healthy and that I have a lifetime supply of bandaids.

Goalkeeper Yussef Hassan L of Qatar attends a public training session of Qatar national team in preparation for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the Jassim bin Hamad stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 2, 2022.

COVID-19 loom.Since the summer, infant and children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen products have been in limited supply in retail outlets, pharmacies and hospitals across Canada. Children’s pain medication to continue to be ‘intermittently available’: Health Canada With the start of fall and winter season up ahead when respiratory viruses typically surge, Canadian parents may have to explore other ways to manage their kids’ pain and fever as supply continues to fall short of high demand, experts say.“Not having a product to treat a fever itself will affect a large part of the larger childhood population because we’re seeing it across the country.

Stock image of police lights. (FOX TV Stations)BURLINGTON, N.C. - A severed finger left behind at the scene of an attempted home invasion last week in North Carolina led investigators to a suspect in the case, police said.Burlington officers responded to a report of an attempted home invasion Thursday morning after a resident who had started a vehicle in the driveway encountered an armed man who tried to force his way into the house, police said in a news release.Police said the two struggled and the man's gun went off, grazing the resident's chest, before the resident was able to shut the door on his hand.

HONOLULU – The Department of Health (DOH) recommends COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines for everyone age five and older. Bivalent boosters are the first COVID-19 vaccinations designed specifically to protect against original COVID-19 and the most common forms of COVID-19 in Hawai‘i, the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants account for almost all of the COVID-19 cases in Hawai‘i.“This is great news for parents who want to protect their young children.

COVID-19 vaccination may protect pregnant women and their fetuses against virus-related placentitis (inflammation of the placenta) and stillbirth, concludes a review study published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The research will also be presented next week at ID Week in Washington, DC.The study, led by a Perinatal Pathology Consulting researcher in Atl

The New York State Department of Health has discovered more evidence of polio in NYC wastewater.  Officials noted that 63 of 70 wastewater samples discovered last week were linked to a polio case of a 20-year-old male from Rockland County.The individual has since developed paralysis in his legs, according to the state health department.  Most of the samples were found in Rockland. Still, officials also collected others all over the state, including Orange County, Sullivan County, and Nassau County, and one sample was found in Brooklyn.

Ofcom has launched an investigation into television channel GB News after a guest likened the Covid-19 vaccine to "mass murder".The comments were made during an episode of Mark Steyn's programme which featured author and journalist Dr Naomi Wolf.After her appearance on the show, Ofcom received a staggering 411 complaints, following Dr Wolf's description of the coronavirus vaccine rollout strategy.READ MORE: Eamonn Holmes 'felt cheated' as 'beautiful' moment at Queen's funeral was 'ruined'A spokesperson for Ofcom said: "We are investigating whether this programme broke our rules designed to protect viewers from harmful material."Ofcom's investigation will examine whether the programme broke their rules which are designed to protect viewers from material that could be considered harmful.Dr Wolf was previously suspended from Twitter in June 2021 for spreading vaccine misinformation. In addition to this, she also caused controversy when she compared Dr Anthony Fauci, the top Covid adviser in the United States, to Satan.As a result of her actions, Dr Wolf was denounced as a conspiracy theorist.While speaking to presenter Mark on his programme she said: "It's sad that it takes a year for the rest of the world to catch up with what used to be called journalism."I'm not a contrarian, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm a journalist and I did a year ago what I've done for 35 years and which until 2020 led me to be a darling of the established media," she expressed.She continued: "But in 2020 and in 2021, when I was reporting accurately on women's health problems that women were reporting subsequent to the Moderna Covid-19 injection, specifically menstrual problems, I was denounced, smeared.

A new global estimate of people who experienced long-COVID symptoms after having symptomatic COVID infection suggests that 6.2% reported one of three long-term symptom clusters, an international research group reported yesterday in JAMA.The experts, called the Global Burden of Disease Long

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test.The space agency attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way."This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble stretching several thousand miles (kilometers).

People walk outside the Barnes & Noble book store on Fifth Avenue in New York. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images) If you're looking for something new to read or want to add a new book to your current collection, Barnes & Noble has released its list of the 10 best books for 2022.The well-known bookseller’s list of reading material has a little something for everyone from former child TV star Jeannette McCurdy, former first lady Michelle Obama and one book about chemistry. Here is the list of the 10 best books, according to Barnes & Noble.1) "I’m Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy Jeannette McCurdy, a former actress on the popular Nickelodeon shows "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat," wrote a memoir detailing her challenges as a former child actor dealing with eating disorders, addiction, and a turbulent relationship with her mother.

A US study of almost 17,000 patients finds modest two-dose Pfizer COVID vaccine effectiveness (VE) against hospitalization and emergency department (ED) admission for Omicron BA.1 (the original Omicron variant) and the BA.2 subvariant, but three-dose VE was 79% and 71% for hospitalization, respectively, and 72% and 21%  for ED visits.Also, VE 3 months or more after the third dose remained high except f

Mailboxes sit outside of a Morris Plains, New Jersey post office on August 17, 2020 in Morris Plains, New Jersey. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) Columbus Day commemorates Christopher Columbus’ historic exploration voyage to the Americas, though the holiday has seen a recent shift in observance to becoming Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is intentionally celebrated on Columbus Day in a call-out to the violence and harm Columbus and other explorers of the age brought about to the Americas.