Covid-19: India sees decline in single-day cases with 294 fresh infections

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Hanaa Singer, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Sri Lanka, who is leaving upon completion of her service, met President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday (19).The President engaged in cordial conversation with Singer and thanked her for the services she had rendered to Sri Lanka and wished her the best of luck in her future endeavours.  Hanaa Singer herved as the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Sri Lanka since September 07, 2018.  As the UN Resident Coordinator in Srilanka, Ms Hanaa Singer led a UN Country Team of 22 resident and non-resident UN Agencies.

Pressing ahead with plans for a multi-million pound cancer facility in the region should be a priority according to the health board’s top man.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake stated that the Committee on High Posts approved the appointments of Four Ambassadors and two Permanent Representatives recently (13). Accordingly, approval was given for the appointment of Ms. Niroshani Manisha Dias Abeywickrama Gunasekara as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the French Republic and Permeant Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, France. Furthermore, the Committee on High Posts has approved the appointment of Ms.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka will stop sending workers overseas to serve as housemaids from March 2023, said the country's Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on Monday (19).He said that a program will be introduced to send Sri Lankans as domestic aides overseas by adopting an international standard.The Minister said that measures will be taken to ensure that Sri Lankans leave for overseas employment via legal channels, and for their earnings to be remitted to the country legally.The Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment said multiple programs will be introduced for the benefit of Sri Lankan expatriates, including the provision of a vehicle import permit, and a pension scheme.Sri Lanka recently opened a special gate named the ‘HOPE GATE’ at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, for workers leaving and returning from foreign countries, where all necessary facilities are provided to expatriate workers at the airport.The Minister said that for the first time in the history of the country, the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau registered and facilitated over 300,000 expatriate workers in 2022.A majority of these workers have travelled to Kuwait, and that figure is 76,579.In addition, a total of 69,992 people left for Qatar, and another 51,421 people left for Saudi Arabia for employment.A further 4,410 Sri Lankans left for Japan for employment as well.

A special operation conducted by the Navy in coordination with the State Intelligence Service and Police Narcotic Bureau in the seas about 229 nautical miles (424km) off Dondra led to the interception of 02 local fishing trawlers and apprehension of a large consignment of narcotic drugs with 08 suspects on 14th December 2022. The haul of illegal drugs included over 128kg and 327g of crystal methamphetamine (Ice) and 106kg and 474g of heroin (with their packages).In the same vein, SLNS Samudura also held another local fishing trawler with 06 suspects arrived to replenish fuel to the drug-carrying trawler. The consignment of drugs and the suspects were brought to the Colombo Harbour by the Navy this morning (18th December). Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera also arrived at the Colombo Harbour to inspect the consignment.The apprehension was made by SLNS Samudura, after a long surveillance operation on high seas off the southern coast. The coordinated operation has led to the interception of a suspicious local multi-day fishing trawler which was in the seas about 229 nautical miles (424km) off Dondra. During subsequent search of the trawler, 124kg and 327g (including packages) of crystal  ethamphetamine in 94 packages and 106kg 474g (including packages) of heroin in 98 packages were held in 13 sacks, along with 08 suspects on 14th December.The gross street value of the consignment of drugs seized by the Navy during this operation is believed to be over Rs 4586.755 million.The suspects held in the operation have been identified as residents of Tangalle, Nakulugamuwa, Kosgoda and Balapitiya and they are from 29 to 59 years of age. They will be handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau for onward legal action.

After removing her eye fillers due to inflammation, HGTV star Christina Hall is starting to suspect that many of her health problems are related to a little known condition called breast implant illness (BII).'Been super exhausted lately so on a kick to get back into my body,' the 39-year-old newlywed - who boasts 1.8M Instagram followers - wrote Saturday.'I've had some unexplained health stuff for years and now I'm considering the thought that this could be breast implant related.' After removing her eye fillers due to inflammation, HGTV star Christina Hall is starting to suspect that many of her health problems are related to a little known condition called breast implant illness (pictured in 2021)Christina shares many of the official listed BII symptoms including joint and muscle pain, adrenal fatigue, brain fog, unexplained skin rashes, dry eyes, and gastrointestinal problems.Other BII symptoms include breathing problems, sleep disturbance, dry mouth, anxiety, depression, headaches, and hair loss - according to breastcancer.org.Hall (born Haack) also claims she suffers from autoimmune issues (Hashimoto's disease, PCOS, Raynaud's syndrome), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, acid reflux, hormone imbalances, and swollen lymph nodes.In addition, the Anaheim-born blonde - who's 'working on detoxing' - recently tested positive for antinuclear antibodies despite being gluten free and mostly dairy free. The 39-year-old newlywed wrote Saturday: 'Been super exhausted lately so on a kick to get back into my body.

The family of a beloved Lanarkshire dad and husband have donated generous funds to staff at the Intensive Care Unit who cared for him during his final days.

Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, RSP **, USP, ndu, psc, was appointed as the 25th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy on 18th December 2022, after being elevated to the rank of three-star Admiral.The appointment was made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera is a product of the Royal College, Colombo. He joined the Sri Lanka Navy in the Executive Branch in 1987 as an Officer Cadet of the 05th Intake of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. He was awarded the ‘Sword of Honour’ for the best in the batch upon successful completion of naval training from the Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee. He was commissioned in the rank of Acting Sub Lieutenant in 1989 and graduated from the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (Defence Studies) with honours.In pursuing academics, he has completed a Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations at Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies and has also been conferred with a Master’s in Science Degree (Defence Studies) in Management from the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. He also holds a Master’s Degree of Maritime Policy with Distinctions from the University of Wollongong, Australia.

SHARON Osbourne was reportedly rushed to a hospital in California, but has since been released, according to her son. While filming a paranormal television series in Santa Paula, Osbourne, 70, allegedly suffered a "medical emergency," according to TMZ. Osbourne's son Jack told TMZ she has been released home and was given the all-clear.

The World Health organization (WHO) estimated that 9% of the world population now had some resistance to Covid-19, but warned that a troubling new variant could still emerge. "WHO estimates that at least 90 percent of the world's population now has some level of immunity to SARS-CoV-2, due to prior infection or vaccination," said Tedros, referring to the virus that causes Covid-19 disease. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said gaps in vigilance were leaving the door open for a new virus variant to appear and overtake the globally dominant Omicron.

Health experts are investigating cases of Strep A infection after the deaths of six young children and a rise in cases.

STRICTLY star Kym Marsh is returning for the Quarter Finals TONIGHT after she was forced to miss last's live show week due to Covid. Actress Kym Marsh, 46, began training again this week and will return to Strictly Come Dancing as she and pro partner Graziano, 28, perform a Cha Cha Cha for Musicals Week tonight. Meanwhile, former frontrunner Hamza Yassin's odds of winning Strictly 2022 have fallen away as new data reveals he’s no longer the show's favourite star.

(Reuters) – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday that she will travel to Beijing next week with heads of other international institutions to press for quicker action on debt relief for poor and developing countries.The meetings with the country's leadership will focus on China's economic, COVID-19 and debt relief policies and will include officials from China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, the IMF said."This is the first time, hopefully, we will be able to sit together and discuss the very pressing issues that China, and the world are faced with," Georgieva told the Reuters NEXT conference.Georgieva said that during the Beijing meetings she intends to discuss ways to accelerate China's participation in debt relief for poor and developing countries as the world's largest official bilateral creditor."I am very hopeful that when we have a chance next week to discuss these issues, we will continue on a path of finding better solutions and strengthening the capacity of the common framework to deliver," she said, referring to G20 countries' slow-to-launch common debt restructuring framework.World Bank President David Malpass told the conference that he would join the discussions in Beijing, along with officials from the World Trade Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and others.Georgieva and Malpass have both called for reforms of the common framework to offer heavily indebted countries a freeze in debt service payments when they apply for debt relief and clearer timelines for reaching agreement on debt treatments.Asked if China's slowing growth would limit its appetite for agreeing to debt reductions, Georgieva said she hoped

A new study has revealed that teenagers had a tremendous impact on their mental health due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings claimed that pandemic-related stressors have physically aged the brains of adolescents.

Twitter Inc. has stopped enforcing a policy aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 misinformation on its platform in the company’s latest move to loosen moderation guidelines on the site.

₹65.31 lakh crore, as against ₹56.20 lakh crore in Q2 FY22, showing a growth of 16.2% as compared to 19.0% in Q2 FY22. Shares closed at record highs for a fifth straight day today, extending their daily rally to seven days and logging a second straight month of gains, as investors cautiously awaited gross domestic product data. Many analysts believed that the Indian economy will expand at a single-digit rate mainly due to the waning base effect.

BEIJING : Chinese police have begun leveraging the powers of the country’s surveillance state to go after demonstrators who participated in rare public displays of defiance over the government’s stringent Covid control policies.

Steven Spielberg was unable to attend Monday night's Gotham Awards in New York due to Covid.The legendary filmmaker, 75, was set to present actress Michelle Williams, 42, with a performer tribute, but had to skip after testing positive for the virus.He was replaced by Paul Dano, 38 — Williams' costar in the Spielberg-directed autobiographical film The Fabelmans — who confirmed the news on stage saying 'Steven got Covid', after it was initially reported by Variety.  Covid: Steven Spielberg was unable to attend Monday night's Gotham Awards in New York after coming down with Covid; Pictured 2022 in HollywoodDuring the presentation, Dano recounted some memories of being at the film’s Hollywood premiere with Williams and how they spoke about being young actors in Los Angeles.

Graham Simpson is calling on the Health Secretary to find an urgent solution to the GP crisis in Lanarkshire.

Demonstrations have erupted in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities Protests are erupting in major cities in China over President Xi Jinping‘s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19, an unusual show of defiance in the country as the economic and social costs from snap lockdowns and other strict restrictions escalate.

Will Smith has gone viral, but not in a good way. The actor, 54, was planning on surprising an audience who had just watched his film, Emancipation, but ended up testing positive for Covid, sharing a video to show how he took a Covid test prior to the appearance. Will seemed to take the news well, writing a lighthearted 'I went viral' next to the video on social media.  Viral: Will Smith used a lighthearted play on words saying 'I went viral' as the actor revealed he tested positive for Covid-19 Participants at screenings are often required to show negative results before they can attend an event. The action star showed no signs of illness, but bellowed out exaggerated screams of pain as swirled the test swab around his nasal passages, and was shocked when one hour later, he received a positive result. Instead of speaking to the audience in person, the Oscar winner met with them via Zoom, as he sat in front of a laptop.  Surprise: The actor was hoping to surprise an audience who had just watched his new film, Emancipation, but was unable to attend  No signs: The action star showed no signs of illness, and was shocked when one hour later, he received a positive result Zoom: Instead of speaking to the audience in person, the Oscar winner met with them via Zoom, as he sat in front of a laptop.

Covid-19 update: The country's death toll climbed to 5,30,608 with three fatalities, including one reconciled by Kerala. India has reported 389 coronavirus infections, taking the cumulative Covid-19 tally to 4,46,71,219 on Saturday, while active cases declined to 5,395, according to the Union Health Ministry data.  The country's death toll climbed to 5,30,608 with three fatalities, including one reconciled by Kerala, according to the ministry data.

With a steady decline in covid cases, several state governments have eased travel norms and mandatory wearing of masks NEW DELHI: India reported 365 fresh coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, pulling down active cases to 5,516, according to an update by the Union health ministry on Friday. Total reported cases in the country since the pandemic hit in 2020 now stands at 4,46,70,830, and death toll at 530,604. Active cases account for 0.01% of total reported infections, while the recovery rate stands at 98.80%, according to the health ministry.

Covid-19 update: The death toll has climbed to 5,30,604 with one death each reported from Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka in the last 24 hours. India has reported 347 fresh Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative tally to 4,46,70,830, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday. With this, the country's active caseload declined to 5,516, which constitute 0.01 per cent of the total infections.

Murdered Logan Mwangi was failed during the Covid lockdown - when multiple opportunities were missed by social services to save the schoolboy, a safeguarding review has found. The five-year-old was brutally killed by family just weeks after he was "stepped down" from the child protection register.

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! is facing chaos after production has been hit with a Covid-19 outbreak just days before the series finale.

I’M A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! has been hit by a Covid outbreak just days before the final on Sunday. Bosses on the ITV show have ramped up safety measures, which include wearing masks around the camp at all times, after two members of staff tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week.

The Global Times report. He stressed that the variant has resulted in cluster infections in nursing homes, construction sites and schools as the cases of COVID-19 were particularly reported in Chaoyang, Changping, Haidian, Fengtai and Tongzhou. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu of the WHO cited the same as the primary reason for the same.  "The virus is evolving, changing its behaviour," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu.

With a steady fall in covid cases across the country, several state governments have eased travel norms and mandatory wearing of masks. NEW DELHI: India reported 408 fresh coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, while active cases fell to 5,881, according to an update by the Union health ministry on Thursday. Total reported cases in the country since the pandemic hit in 2020 now stands at 4,46,70,483, and death toll at 530,601.

With discerning cinema audiences having moved online for entertainment, niche films in international languages are struggling to find takers in cinemas. With discerning cinema audiences having moved online for entertainment during covid pandemic, smaller, niche films in several international languages are struggling to find takers in cinemas. These include small scale Hollywood films or movies from Korea and Iran that were originally popular in the big metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru and could make up to Rs.

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

Ice Cube lost out on a $9 million project — all because he refused to do the responsible thing and get the COVID-19 vaccine before filming started.

It was a match made in heaven for a pair of keyworkers who tied the knot after winning their £10,000 dream wedding thanks to their hard work during the pandemic.

A Lanarkshire teacher has been left unable to read books after a crippling long COVID battle.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Health Entomologists Association says that the number of dengue patients across 20 MOH divisions is considerably high.The Chairman of the Health Entomologists Association Najith Sumanasena said that several MOH divisions in the Western Province are considered dengue high-risk areas.He requested the general public to ensure to keep their surroundings clean to prevent the spread of dengue in those identified MOH divisions.Over 55,500 dengue cases have been reported in the country so far this year, twice the number reported in 2021.

Ice Cube confirmed he missed out on a $9 million acting role after he refused to get the vaccination shot for COVID-19.The 53-year-old rapper-actor, appearing on the podcast Million Dollaz Worth of Game Monday, said, 'I turned down a movie because I didn’t want to get the motherf***ing jab.'He continued: 'I didn’t want get the jab - f*** that jab; f*** y'all for trying to make me get it. I don’t know how Hollywood feels about me right now.' The latest: Ice Cube, 53, confirmed he missed out on a $9 million acting role after he refused to get the vaccination shot for COVID-19The comments came more than a year after reports in October of 2021 that he had been passed over for a role in the Sony comedy Oh Hell No as producers wanted all cast vaccinated for the shoot.The entertainer, whose real name is O'Shea Jackson, said he 'turned down $9 million' in not getting vaccinated to appear in the film, which is slated to star Jack Black and be directed by Kitao Sakurai.

₹40,000. This happened because of the pandemic as rents were lower as people working remotely had still not returned to the city. Post-pandemic, rents have surged and this very apartment now commands a monthly rent of ₹50,000-55,000," she said.

By Tyrone DevottaThe digital chapter of FITIS on its internet day message says although Financial Technology (FinTech) is now a global phenomenon, in providing financial benefits to the elite and right down to the bottom of the pyramid, Sri Lanka has not cashed in on its full advantages.  This is because we lack the policy framework for Fintech companies to operate in their full capacity.

Corrie star Kym Marsh has had to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend after testing positive for Covid.

People are being warned that a "highly contagious" respiratory virus could be on the rise during the winter.

The Scottish Parliament's COVID-19 Recovery Committee will meet with employees and service users of two Lanarkshire employment support organisations next week.

primary obstacles to luring them back in, but fear of being exposed to the coronavirus remains a factor for one in four workers, and that rate is even higher among some demographics.To stay up to date with the latest Gallup News insights and updates, follow us on Twitter.Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.

A Scots teacher has been left unable to read books after a crippling long covid battle. Melanie More, 28, struggles with a variety of cognitive and physical issues - leaving her 90 per cent housebound.

A Scots bride has opened up about how she managed to pull of her dream Disney wedding in just six months - despite Covid nearly ruining everything.

As fresh restrictions are imposed in parts of China against the new outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus, the country has reported its first death in nearly half a year. China saw the death of an 87-year-old man from Beijing, bringing the death count to 5,227. His death was first reported by the National Health Commission.

People in Ayrshire are being encouraged to take advantage of a number of drop-in centres where they can receive Covid-19 boosters and flu vaccines, starting this weekend.

Colombo (News 1st) – The Anti Leprosy Campaign at the Health Ministry on Saturday (Nov. 19) warned of an alarming rate in the spread of Hansen's Disease (most commonly known as Leprosy) among school children in Sri Lanka. Around 15 percent of the cases reported this year were among school children, Dr.

An Ayrshire politician has blasted what he's described as an 'undemocratic money grab' from the Scottish Government.