Calls for urgent safeguards in Ontario long-term care homes

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Friday (7) in a series of tweets has clarified the position on remittances.He said that remittances by Sri Lankan expats are NOT subject to the rule on the conversion of export proceeds, as those are not considered “services exports”.Hence, those can’t & won’t be converted into Sri Lankan Rupees without the consent of the recipient, he said.However, the Governor said that in the case of merchandise or services exports by resident Sri Lankans, residual earnings have to be converted into Sri Lankan Rupees after deducting the permitted payments, he added.The deductions permitted are:Outward remittances in respect of current transactionsWithdrawal in forex as permittedDebt servicing expenses, Purchases of goods and serviceInvestments in SLDBs. #Remittances by Sri Lankan #expats are NOT subject to rule on conversion of #export proceeds, as those are not considered “services exports”. Hence, those can’t & won’t be converted into LKR without the #consent of the recipient.

COLOMBO (News 1st); India has offered a Credit Line of USD 500 Million to Sri Lanka to purchase petroleum products.The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said this decision to support Sri Lanka follows a discussion between Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S.

COVID-19 tests to licensed child care programs in the community.In a press release issued Tuesday, the city said it is working with the provincial government to distribute the tests.According to the city, two test kits will be allotted per staff member or care provider and infant, toddler and preschool child in care. Child care centres concerned about limited N95 mask supply from Ontario government The city said the tests “are to be used when they present any symptoms of the COVID-19 virus and its variants.”“Children, child care staff members and child care providers will continue to be actively screened every day for symptoms upon entering a child care program, as has been the process throughout the pandemic,” the release reads.The city said it will help to ensure the test kids are distributed “as quickly as possible” to community-based child care programs, including licensed home child care agencies.According to the release, child care programs that are located in schools will receive the test kits directly from their school or school board.In a statement, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the city is “committed to supporting any effort to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to keep children, their families and child care workers safe.”“By providing one more tool to help detect symptomatic cases, we can make a concerted effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep child care programs open for the families that need them,” he said.Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr.

COVID-19 tests and ramp up on-site vaccination clinics Tuesday as more students headed back to class in-person.The province has said it will provide two rapid COVID-19 tests for staff and students now that PCR tests are less accessible to everyone due to high case volumes.The Lakehead District School Board in Thunder Bay, Ont., where classes ran in-person Monday and Tuesday, said 16,000 rapid tests were in schools on the first day of classes.In southwestern Ontario, the St. Clair Catholic District School Board said it would be sending the test kits home with students on Jan.

COVID on Tuesday, though just over half of them were initially admitted due to virus complications, with 580 in intensive care units.The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.Of the 4,183 people in hospital with COVID-19, which is up by 296 since yesterday, 53.5 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 46.5 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.This is an increase from 3,220 people in hospital last Tuesday.There are 580 people in ICUs, which is up by two from the previous day. Around 82 per cent of those in intensive care with COVID were admitted because of the virus, while around 18 per cent were admitted for other reasons.The number of people in ICUs is up from 477 from last week.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal on Tuesday (18) said that the country has paid the USD 500 Million International Sovereign Bond that matured.Earlier, the Governor said that the Central Bank allocated the forex required for the $ 500 million International Sovereign Bonds (ISB) that is maturing on January 18.Out of the 500 million dollar bond, 170 million is held by domestic investors, Cabraal had said earlier, according to media reports. Sri Lanka has paid the USD 500 million sovereign #bond that matured today (18).

Mandate Trade Union has written to all major retail employers and the Minister for Health calling for the provision of free antigen tests and high quality masks for workers in the retail and hospitality.

Joe Rogan walks onto the stage during the UFC 230 weigh-in inside Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 2, 2018 in New York, New York. LOS ANGELES - Nearly 300 medical experts are urging Spotify to take action against the streaming platform’s most popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," for "broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic." In an open letter to Spotify signed by 270 professors, scientists, doctors and health care workers, writers criticized a controversial episode featuring Dr.

COLOMBO (News 1st); India on Thursday (6) assured Sri Lanka of its support to tide over “difficult times”.India also welcomed the Trincomalee tank farms project saying it will augment bilateral energy security.After a phone conversation with his Sri Lankan counterpart Professor G. L. Peiris,  Indian External Affairs Minister S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been bestowed with the ‘Sri Lankadheeshwara Padma Vibhushana’ award on Sunday (2), tweeted the President’s SpokespersonIt was awarded by the Sri Kalyani Samagridharma Maha Sangha Sabha of the Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Maha Viharaya. අතිගරු ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමන් වෙත, මහාවිහාරවංශික ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ ශ්‍රී කල්‍යාණී සාමග්‍රිධර්ම මහාසංඝසභාව මගින් “ශ්‍රී ලංකාධීශ්වර පද්ම විභූෂණ” ගෞරවාභිධානය පිරිනමනු ලැබුණා.#LKA— Kingsly Rathnayaka (@KingslyRathnyka) January 2, 2022

Students are seen walking out of Redondo Union High School in protest of in-person classes on Jan. 12, 2022.

COLOMBO (News 1st): Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province Deshabandu Thennakoon told a Sri Lankan Court that if all responsible agencies held joint discussions on the intelligence received and acted expeditiously, the 2019 Easter Attacks could have been prevented.The Senior Cop was testifying at the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar in the case filed against Former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara.Ex-IGP Jayasundara is charged with neglecting his duties by failing to prevent the Easter Attacks among other charges.Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Pieris led the evidence from the prosecution on Tuesday (18).Deshabandu Thennakoon told the court that the intel received by the Head of National Intelligence on the 9th of April 2019 from the State Intelligence Serves became yet another piece of intel that flowed from top to bottom of the chain of command.The witness told the court that even though the intel was on extremists targeting religious places and the Indian High Commission, there were no images or photographs of the wanted suspects, and therefore there was no opportunity for him or his junior officers to identify the perpetrators.However, the court questioned the witness if Sri Lanka Police is only capable of preventing an event if the definite time and date is mentioned or does Sri Lanka Police not possess the capability of preventing a possible event by looking into those claims.The Senior Police Officer responded that there was no definite information available on the matter.He also told the court that he was on leave from the 18th to the 21st of April 2019, and therefore he did not have time to follow up on the instructions given to junior officers.He added that there was no follow-up from Ex-IGP

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana on Tuesday (27) welcomed Zara Rutherford, the 19-year-old, on her journey to break the Guinness World Records; the youngest woman to fly around the world, the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight and the first Belgian to circumnavigate the world solo in a single-engine aircraft.On the 18th of August 2021, 19 year old Belgian-British pilot Zara started a journey with a small aeroplane to fly solo around the world and she hopes to complete her 51,000-kilometre trip across five continents and 52 countries by mid-January 2022.The CIAR is the 56th stop in her bid to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.Aside from entering the record book, the teenager has expressed hope that her voyage will encourage girls and women to study and work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), and spark girls’ interest in aviation.Rutherford is seeking the title held by from Shaesta Wais, who became the youngest woman to fly solo round the world at age 30 in 2017.

Parents pull children out of Ontario daycares due to COVID testing changes Christa O’Connor, executive director of Creative Beginnings Childcare Centre, says her organization received 240 masks in total for its two locations in the Waterloo region for 56 staff, which she says would last them about four days.In Toronto, Blossoming Minds Learning Centre executive director Maggie Moser says her centre has received 120 masks to supply a total of 40 staff _ enough for about three days.Moser says her centre has gone ahead and ordered 160 N95 masks, the maximum that could be ordered from a certain manufacturer, for about $300.She says the centre plans to order more in the future, depending on the number of masks supplied from the government.In a statement, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the province has “exceeded the advice of public health by purchasing and delivering N95s to all education and child care staff.” 

COLOMBO (News 1st); President Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited the Malwathu Vihara on Thursday (06) and received blessings from the Most Venerable Dimbulkumbure Wimaladhamma Anunayake Thera.The Anunayake Thera chanted Seth Pirith and invoked blessings on the President. The Thera said that the Maha Sangha have faith that the aspirations of the people would be fulfilled by overcoming all obstacles.The President called on the Most Venerable Niyangoda Vijithasiri Thera, the Anunayake of Malwathu Chapter, and engaged in a brief conversation.Ven.

COLOMBO (News 1st); A Train had derailed close to the Kala Oya Train Station on Friday (31) evening.The Railways Control Room said a cargo train from Seeduwa to Trincomalee has thus derailed.The train engine and six compartments had gone off track, said the Railways Control Room adding that this will delay operation from Batticaloa to Trincomalee.

COVID-19 surge.St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) says their facility in the east end on King Street East near Centennial Parkway will temporarily reduce hours to between 4 p.m.

COLOMBO (News 1st); A magnitude 4.3 earthquake was reported in the Bay of Bengal some 300 km away from Sri Lanka’s East Coast.This was confirmed by the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau of Sri Lanka.According to the Indian National Center for Seismology, the depth of this quake was 21 km.

Boris Johnson's future is hanging in the balance as cabinet ministers pleaded with Tory MPs to wait for the findings of an official investigation into Downing Street parties before calling for him to quit.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The agreements to develop Trinco Oil Tank Farm were signed on Thursday (6), said Energy Ministry Udaya Gammanpila.The Office of the Minister of Energy in a statement late Thursday (6) said that a majority of the tanks at the Trinco Oil Tank Farm which were under Lanka IOC will now be under the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation as a development project.The statement noted that the agreement signed in 2003 with thus be terminated and the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm will be leased for a period of 50 years to the following three entities.1. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation – 24 tanks2.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The first group of the 8th Army contingent of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps (SLAMC), bound for the United Nations Peace-Keeping Mission in South Sudan’s Level-2 Hospital (UNMISS) to serve the SRIMED Hospital left for South Sudan during early morning hours on Wednesday (29) amidst greetings of the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva who showed up at the airport despite his day’s hectic schedules.Soon after review of a simple parade, presented by those troops in honour of their Army Chief, this first group, comprised of 11 Officers and 22 Other Ranks before their boarding formalities interacted with the Army Chief who in turn wished them best of luck and reminded them of the importance of maintaining the highest level of discipline while serving and their commitment to the role and tasks in South Sudan.The 8th South Sudan bound contingent, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel N.M Niflar and 2nd in-command Major D.Y.S Kumara is made up of 66 Army personnel, including Brigadier Kalana Wijewardana, Consultant Surgeon, 13 Officers with 4 Medical specialists.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power said that Lanka IOC has informed the Ceylon Electricity Board that it cannot deliver fuel as it does not have extra fuel stocks.Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge said if any disruptions to the power supply are likely in the future, the schedule of power cuts will be released.“A fuel tanker of the CPC has also reached the Port. We have held discussions with the Government to somehow release the shipment by settling the payment through the State Treasury at least.

COLOMBO (News 1st): Lahiru Wijedasa, a senior research fellow at National University of Singapore’s (NUS) tropical peatland research programme, was appointed by conservation group BirdLife International as Asia forest coordinator.The move marks Wijedasa’s first foray into civic society after a career in scientific research,specialising in botany and ecology.Wijedasa was part of a team that recently discovered a new species of flowering tree in a peat swamp in Sumatra.Their discovery of Disepalum rawagambut marks the first new discovery of a tree in a peat swamp habitat in almost 60 years.The last peat swamp forest tree discovered was the Shorea retusa, which was also found in Indonesia back in 1963.Lahiru’s s new role will involve working with partners on forest conservation projects across Asia.One of his first projects is in ecosystem restoration, working with Burung Indonesia, an Indonesian bird conservation group, and British charity Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, to conserve the lowland forests of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Thousands of drivers out along Toronto-area highways are stuck in snow as a historic winter storm blasts southern Ontario on Monday morning. OPP Sgt.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka welcomes a total of 194,495 tourists for the year 2021.According to Kimarli Fernando, the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Tourism, the highest number of tourist arrivals was recorded in December 2021, which is 89,506.In addition, as per the 2nd of January 2022, Indian visitors topped the arrival list with 56,368 tourists.

Quebec seniors minister tells inquest that care homes knew how to manage COVID-19 outbreaks Martin Simard’s testimony backed up that of Seniors Minister Marguerite Blais, but it contradicted the testimony of other prominent witnesses, including the province’s ex-public health director and former health minister, who both said the province knew of the risk in late January.Simard said that written internal communication on COVID-19 preparation from January was aimed at the network as a whole and did not focus specifically on the care homes, known as CHSLDs.Kamel has been examining the deaths of elderly and vulnerable people in seven residential settings during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as investigating the government’s response to the outbreaks.On Monday, Kamel said she was “flabbergasted” at the statements she had heard and at the inability of some witnesses to admit that care homes had been a “blind spot” in the government’s response.“It’s been a year that what we’ve been told is, ‘I can’t tell you, I can’t say, and it may not be our department or our group that was managing,”’ she said.“It seems to me that people should be able to tell us in all honesty: ‘Listen, we may have had a little blind spot when it comes to CHSLDs.”’ Quebec ombudswoman calls for review of long-term care model after COVID-19 deaths Simard told the inquiry that the long-term care homes only became a “named issue” on March 11. He said it was the responsibility of then-public health director Dr.

Queen’s University assistant professor and family doctor Michelle Cohen told Global News that more must be done to hold doctors to account on anti-vaccine views. She said it can be harmful to the public and that it’s “absolutely connected” to vaccine hesitancy.

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) late last year.Trozzi, O’Connor and Kilian have been accused by the CPSO of failing to comply with investigations into allegations they issued false medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine. Phillips, the CPSO says, is threatening to re-release a tranche of confidential documents on Twitter.But on January 7, only O’Connor, and her lawyer Michael Swinwood, showed up on Zoom to argue their case.“Alright.

A mysterious long Covid symptom is making life miserable for one young woman.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Chief Marshal P. H.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivered the Government’s Policy Statement, after declaring open the 2nd session of the 9th Parliament on Tuesday (18).The President said that while successfully encountering short-term problems, the primary responsibility is to continue to implement the long-term development program presented by the government to the people and endorsed by a majority.“The sustainable future of the country is built on it,” said the President.Here’s are some of the key takeaways from the President’s speech:National Security:“Our Government has secured national security and the people have no fear of terrorism today,” said the President in his statement.He said the government has been able to change the situation concerning the underworld that terrorized people, during the past two years.The President further stated that Sri Lanka was becoming a hub for international drug traffickers and the situation today is largely under control due to the action taken by the security & intelligence services in the country.Human Rights:The President in his statement said Sri Lanka needs to correct the misconceptions that have been taken to the international community in the past with regard to Human Rights in the country.“During my tenure, the government did not support any form of human rights violations. We do not condone such actions in any manner,” he said.Electricity:“We will not approve the construction of coal power plants in the future for any reason,” said the President adding that “Our goal is to achieve the carbon-neutral target by 2050.

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Ministry of Power will hold a discussion on Tuesday (Jan. 18) with the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, on obtaining the required US dollars for the Ceylon Electricity Board. “A fuel tanker is currently at the Port and the discussions with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Finance Ministry, and the Bank of Ceylon today (18), will focus on getting the tanker released to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation,” Minister of Power Gamini Lokuge told News 1st.Accordingly, once the shipment of fuel onboard the tanker is released to the CPC, the CEB could also obtain the required fuel for power generation, he added.“The Central Bank provided US dollars for all these shipments, and for this shipment also, we’ll obtain the required dollars from the CBSL,” Minister Lokuge noted.The Minister was hopeful that the prevailing power crisis could be rectified by the 22nd of this month, once the fault at the Norochcholai Power Plant is resolved and re-activated, as that would add another 300 MW of power to the National Grid.

Health Canada’s approval of Pfizer’s oral anti-viral treatment is expected to make a big difference in the future fight against COVID-19. But early warnings are coming that it’s no replacement for vaccines and won’t make a significant impact for months.

With today’s snowfall of up to 50 centimeters in some parts – projecting to be the biggest in recent history, we asked our Chief Meteorologist, Anthony Farnell to remind us that we’ve been here before – and we’ve had it much worse.

A major winter storm postponed a return to in-class learning in Ontario. Caryn Lieberman reports.

A heartbroken woman has nominated a department at Wishaw General for an award following the “outstanding” care they gave to her late husband.

Budget supermarket Aldi has issued its customers with an urgent warning as it recalls a box of its own-brand chocolates.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila has warned that if the fuel imported to the country is released to the Ceylon Electricity Board for electricity generation, there will be a shortage of fuel for vehicles.“We were compelled to reach a decision to only release fuel to the CEB if they deliver payment in USD,” the Minister told News 1st adding that Sri Lanka does not have oil deposits or large stocks of fuel to be given to the CEB.“We can only procure fuel for the CEB if they can provide us with payment in USD,” he said.The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has already delivered 1,500 metric tons of diesel per day in the last two days.“At present, there are two tankers anchored at sea with a total of 76,000 MT of diesel. If the (CEB) can provide us with the US Dollars to unload one of them, we can deliver diesel to the Ceylon Electricity Board,” he told News 1st while denying that he will be held accountable for any power-cuts that may arise over the shortage of fuel to generate electricity.Minister Gammanpila said he is NOT vested with the responsibility of sourcing US Dollars for the country, adding that he has no power to even print US dollars.“The issue is not the fact that the CEB owes the CPC over Rs.

You could experience up to 20 symptoms when infected with Omicron, according to the ZOE Covid Study.

COLOMBO (News 1st); A wedding reception in Tissamaharama on Sunday (16) night ended in a murder, said Sri Lanka Police.According to the police report, a dispute has taken place between family members during the wedding and a man had beaten and choked his father-in-law to death.The 54-year-old victim was rushed to the Debarawewa Hospital, where he was ruled dead upon admission.The suspect who committed the murder was identified and he is reported to have fled the area, said Police adding that an investigation is underway.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lankan authorities will meet on Tuesday (18) to discuss the procurement of fuel for an uninterruptible power supply to the island nation.The Ceylon Electricity Board told News 1st that the existing stocks of fuel will only be sufficient to generate electricity until Tuesday (18) morning.On Saturday (15) the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation supplied 3,000 MT of Diesel to the Ceylon Electricity Board for power generation, and the CPC said the fuel was released considering it as an urgent requirement.Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said if the Ceylon Electricity Board needs fuel continuously, it must provide US dollars to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.The Minister said if the CEB provides the dollars, the Ministry of Energy is prepared to import and supply the required stocks of fuel for power generation.Minister Gammanpila noted that amidst the prevailing dollar crisis in the country, the CPC goes through serious difficulties to earn USD $400 million every month, to ensure the adequate supply of fuel stocks required for transportation and other industries.He said the Ministry of Energy informed the CEB three months ago that if they require fuel for power generation, they should inform in advance.However, according to the Energy Minister, the CEB has informed the CPC on the 11th of January that they require Diesel from the 13th of January.Minister Gammanpila said the CPC does not possess additional stocks of Diesel to supply on such short notice.He emphasized that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is ready to import and supply fuel if the Ceylon Electricity Board provides the necessary dollars, adding that the CEB can also directly import fuel by themselves.

Students and education workers will be heading back to the classroom Monday. And while many kids are excited to be returning to school, some believe it could be short-lived. Brittany Rosen has more.

An Ontario teen is putting his time and talent to use – helping seniors and small business stay safe during the pandemic. Sharmeen Somani reports.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Maldivian Parliament’s Speaker and former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed arrived in Sri Lanka on Sunday (16) on a four-day official visit.He is accompanied by a two-member delegation.He was received at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake by the State Minister of Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Three people have drowned in Ratnapura and Koslanda, said Sri Lanka Police.Four people had gone to bathe in the Kalu Ganga on Saturday (15) evening in Sri Palabaddala in Ratnapura.Police said two of them, aged 22 & 40, were swept away by strong currents.One other person had managed to swim ashore, while a 10 year old boy remains missing.At the same time a 16 year old boy drowned while bathing in the Makaldeniya River in Koslanda.Moreover, a 54 year old man who was returning from pilgrimage to Kataragama is reported missing while bathing in a canal attached to the Udawalawa Reservoir in Sevanagala.

COLOMBO (News 1st); According to the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant report issued by the Allergy Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 160 new cases of Omicron and 22 new cases of Delta were detected from 182 samples.“These 182 samples were sequenced from the last week of December and the first week of January from the community and arrival and departure samples from the airport.” said Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, Director of the Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine.The 160 Omicron cases include a mix of the two main Omicron lineages BA.1 and BA.2. BA.1 is detected in at least 113 countries and whereas BA.2 is directed in at least 3o countries.

More than 150 care home workers are testing positive for Covid every day, plunging the system into chaos.

COLOMBO (News 1st); A parcel sent to Sri Lanka from the Netherlands said to contain bed linen and toys turned out to be Ecstacy Pills with Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth), when inspected by Sri Lanka Customs.The discovery was made by officers of Sri Lanka Customs attached to the Central Mail Exchange when inspecting a parcel addressed to a resident of Jaffna, that arrived from the Netherlands.“The ecstasy pills have been found secretly hidden inside cardboard walls of the parcel,” said Sri Lanka Customs Spokesperson Sudattha Silva, who is also the Deputy Director of Customs.4,000 pills weighing 1,600 grams were discovered and the officers of the Narcotic Control Unit of Sri Lanka Customs have assessed the approximate marked value as Rs. 26 million.A resident of the Wellawattte who had arrived at the Central Mail Exchange to clear the parcel was arrested by Sri Lanka Customs.Preliminary investigations into this importation of drugs are being carried out by the officers of the Narcotics Control Unit of Sri Lanka Customs and the suspect and the stock of drugs are to be handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations.