Progressive: Latest News

Kabaragala Estate landslide injures five people

COLOMBO (News 1st); At least five people were injured after heavy rains caused a landslide in the Kabargala Estate in Punagala, Bandarawela.According to reports from News 1st correspondents, the landslide occurred at approximately 9 pm on Sunday (19) near the Kabaragala Estate hospital.Over 30 homes have been damaged, leaving around 200 residents of 60 families without shelter. The Assistant Director of the Disaster Management Center for Badulla District, E.L.E.M.

Udaya Kumara, has stated that the area experienced significant rainfall.Preliminary operations on exploring the possibility to return the area will be carried out by the National Building Research Organization with the support of the Sri Lankan Army and Police, he added. Assistant Director Kumara says that a full investigation into the incident is underway, and additional details are expected to emerge as the probe progresses.

. reports Progressive
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Kristalina Georgieva - Julie Chung - US welcomes Sri Lanka’s IMF package; Ambassador says structural & lasting reforms are critical - newsfirst.lk - Usa - Sri Lanka - county Will
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US welcomes Sri Lanka’s IMF package; Ambassador says structural & lasting reforms are critical
COLOMBO (News 1st); The United States of America has welcomed the approval of Sri Lanka’s IMF package."Great news & an important step on the road toward economic recovery," tweeted US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Monday (20).She said that the Sri Lankan government will need to continue reforms and conclude debt restructuring agreements to ensure the program – and the economy – stay on track.She noted that structural & lasting reforms that address good governance & transparency are critical to ensure all citizens of Sri Lanka can prosper.IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also noted that she was very pleased the Executive Board of the IMF had approved about $3 bn of IMF support for Sri Lanka’s economic policies & reforms. She said that it was an important milestone with International Creditors coming together to help to restore debt sustainability. "Crucial to unlock Sri Lanka's growth potential," she added.The International Monetary Fund said that it will enable an immediate disbursement equivalent to about US $ 333 million for Sri Lanka under EFF program, following Executive Board approval on Monday (20).The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today a 48‑month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with an amount of SDR 2.286 billion (395 percent of quota or about US$3 billion).Sri Lanka has been hit hard by a catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis.
Samantha Power - Julie Chung - Free TSP fertilizer for North & East farmers; Distribution for other areas to commence soon - newsfirst.lk - Usa - Sri Lanka
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Free TSP fertilizer for North & East farmers; Distribution for other areas to commence soon
COLOMBO (News 1st);Sri Lanka's Agriculture Ministry said that 1.2 million local farmers will be given Triple Super Phosphate or TSP Fertilizer free of charge from Monday (20), after three harvesting seasons.The shipment of 36,000 metric tons  Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and procured by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for distribution free-of-charge to farmers.Accordingly, 11,537 MT of TSP fertilizer will be issued to farmers in the Northern, and Eastern Provinces.TSP Fertilizer will be issued via all Agrarian Services Centers in the country.The Ministry of Agriculture said that TSP Fertilizer will be issued to other areas to commence harvesting.According to the ministry, 55 kg of fertilizer is recommended for one hectare of paddy cultivation.More than a million Sri Lankan paddy farmers in all 25 districts will get vital assistance through a shipment of over 36,000 metric tons of fertilizer handed over by the United States to the Ministry of Agriculture. This second shipment of USAID-supported fertilizer is delivered on a promise USAID Administrator Samantha Power made last September in response to Sri Lanka’s food security challenges. It brings the total of USAID-supported TSP and urea fertilizer to more than 45,000MT over the last year.U.S.
Sri Lankans - Sri Lanka attends UN conference in Qatar - newsfirst.lk - Sri Lanka - Italy - Palestine - Qatar - city Doha, Qatar
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Sri Lanka attends UN conference in Qatar
Colombo (News 1st) – State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya was amongst the dignitaries present for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries taking place in Doha, Qatar The event is being held from the 5th to the 9th of this month.State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya met with counterpart Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Qatar, for a discussion that touched upon many areas including the recognition of the Sri Lankan Engineering degrees by Qatari authorities and Sri Lanka's technical support for Qatari government's attempt to promote cricket in Qatar. Tharaka Balasuriya also expressed Sri Lanka's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and its people to the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas.With ongoing progressions and developments on the new establishment of the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans, the State Minister held a side meeting with HE Antonio Vitorino, Director of IOM in Doha, in which HE Vitorino assured IOM support on the digitalization of the Office of Overseas Sri Lankans as well as continuous support of the IOM with matters pertaining to migration. State Minister Balasuriya also met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy Maria Tripodi. Discussions were held, particularly on bilateral relations between the respective countries.
Dinesh Gunawardena - JICA to resume projects after IMF deal is finalized - newsfirst.lk - Japan - Usa - Sri Lanka
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JICA to resume projects after IMF deal is finalized
COLOMBO (News 1st); JICA is set to resume its ongoing projects in Sri Lanka no sooner the IMF package on debt restructuring finalized, said the Prime Minister's Media Division.Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena urged the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to recommence all the ongoing projects that are temporarily halted due to fiscal issues.He made this request when Director General of the South Asia Department of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Teruyuki Ito met him on Monday (20).Teruyuki Ito assured the Prime Minister that JICA projects would be resumed no sooner the debt restructuring programme is finalized by the International Monetary Fund.12 JAICA projects worth US$ 2.5 billion have been temporarily halted due to the fiscal crisis. The JICA delegation had expressed satisfaction over the progress in debt restructuring plans, in which Japan also played a major role.The Prime Minister thanked JICA Director General for the continuous assistance provided to Sri Lanka for several decades for water treatment, sewerage, sanitation and solid waste treatment projects in several cities and towns. He also requested JICA to provide assistance in new areas such as renewable energy and electrification of public transport and railways.Prime Minister Gunawardena also briefed the JICA delegation about the steps taken to improve transparency and accountability in project implementation by enacting required legislations as recommended by the Committee appointed by the President. He added that a Budget Act would be passed to ensure continuation of nationally important projects and policies despite change of governments in power.
North Carolina man developed 'uncontrollable' Irish accent during prostate cancer treatment - fox29.com - Britain - Ireland - state North Carolina
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North Carolina man developed 'uncontrollable' Irish accent during prostate cancer treatment
North Carolina man developed an "uncontrollable Irish accent" until his death after being treated for prostate cancer, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.The patient, who was only identified as a man in his 50s, was presumably afflicted with foreign accent syndrome (FAS) after receiving androgen deprivation therapy and being prescribed abiraterone acetate/prednisone.The report said the man lived in England during his 20s and had friends and distant family members from Ireland, but had never visited the country or spoken with the foreign accent."His accent was uncontrollable, present in all settings and gradually became persistent," the four researchers wrote in their report, adding that it first began 20 months into his treatment.WALKING DEAD SYNDROME AND OTHER RARE CONDITIONS THAT BAFFLE DOCTORS AND RESEARCHERSSeveral similar cases have been studied across the globe in recent years, but this was reportedly the first case of FAS described in a patient with prostate cancer and the third described in a patient with malignancy.The researchers believe his voice change was caused by a condition called paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND), which happens when cancer patients' immune systems attack parts of their brain, muscles, nerves and spinal cord."Despite chemotherapy, his neuroendocrine prostate cancer progressed resulting in multifocal brain metastases and a likely paraneoplastic ascending paralysis leading to his death," they wrote.Even as his condition worsened, the accent remained until his death months later. The report said the man did not have any neurological examination abnormalities or psychiatric history.
Bruce Willis - Selma Blair and Queen Latifah lead 'well wishes' to Bruce Willis after health diagnosis - dailystar.co.uk - Ireland - city Selma, county Blair - county Blair
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Selma Blair and Queen Latifah lead 'well wishes' to Bruce Willis after health diagnosis
Hollywood stars have publicly shared their support for Bruce Willis, 67, following his dementia diagnosis.On Thursday (February 16), Bruce's family announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and released a “painful” statement explaining the condition.Since news of his diagnosis made its way around social media, the Die Hard actor has been inundated with messages from celebrity friends as they showed their support.READ MORE: Hollywood star Raquel Welch dies aged 82 after 'brief illness' as tributes pour in“Sending love [yellow heart emoji],” Selma Blair wrote in response to Demi Moore’s post as she uploaded a personal statement.Elsewhere, Queen Latifah said: “God bless you, my brother, we love you!!! all the best,” she wrote. “Thank you and your family for all the entertainment!!!” “Sending you and your family all my love, always,” Ireland Baldwin wrote in a comment on Bruce’s daughter Rumer’s post.Meanwhile, Aaron Paul wrote that Bruce is “such a damn legend” in his comment before adding: “Love you so much my friend! [love heart emoji] Sending hugs to you and that beautiful family of yours,” before finishing with: “Your pops is such a damn legend.”To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.That 70s Show star Wilmer Valderrama also penned: “Sending you all my love,” while Dancing With The Stars Sharna Burgess replied: “Sending you all so much love,” followed by a love heart emoji.
Colorado Walmart good Samaritans swoop in to save child from alleged kidnapper: police - fox29.com - state Florida - state Indiana - state Colorado
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Colorado Walmart good Samaritans swoop in to save child from alleged kidnapper: police
Kimberli Jones has been charged with kidnapping for allegedly trying to steal a child from a woman in a Colorado Walmart (Alamosa County Sheriff's Office) A woman in Colorado has been arrested and charged after allegedly trying to kidnap a young child from a mother inside a Walmart but was stopped by quick thinking shoppers.The city of Alamosa, Colorado posted on Facebook that the police department responded to a call of a kidnapping in progress on Thursday and discovered a woman had grabbed a child who didn’t belong to her from a shopping cart."Due to the quick actions of citizens within the store at the time of the incident, they were able to restrain the suspect until law enforcement arrived and reunited the young child back safely to parents," the post said.The suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Kimberli Jones from Blanca, Colorado.POLICE SAY 'GOOD SAMARITAN' PREVENTED FURTHER LOSS OF LIFE IN INDIANA MALL SHOOTING: 'TACTICALLY SOUND'Jones has been charged with kidnapping, menacing, child abuse, and disorderly conduct.The kidnapping, menacing, and child abuse charges are felonies while the disorderly conduct charge is a misdemeanor. ARMED FLORIDA GOOD SAMARITANS DETAIN MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTED, SHOT AT 2 WOMENPolice say the crime was an isolated incident and that the public should not be worried."The Alamosa Police Department would like to thank the brave citizens, Wal-Mart staff, and community for the quick response and for being alert," the post said. LINK: Get updates and more on this story at foxnews.com.
Threatening calls to NEC members originated from Dubai – CID - newsfirst.lk - city Dubai
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Threatening calls to NEC members originated from Dubai – CID
COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Election Commission said that it cannot be satisfied with the status of investigations taking place with regard to the death threats made to three members of the NEC.A senior official at the National Election Commission speaking to News 1st said that various factions are continuing to make undue influence on the NEC in order to delay the Local Government Elections.He added that certain state officials, attached to several State Institutions that should be involved in ensuring a Free & Fair election takes place, are neglecting their duties.The Senior Official said that those who appointed the state officials who are neglecting their duties must be held accountable for the dereliction of duty.The Chairman of the National Election Commission, Attorney Nimal Punshihewa has requested the President to intervene over the death threats made to the members of the National Election Commission.The NEC Chairman in a letter to the President requested that an environment favourable to conduct a free and fair election be created.News 1st also inquired from the Criminal Investigations Department on the progress made with regard to the investigations on the death threats made to members of the National Election Commission.A Senior Official at the CID said that investigations revealed that the threatening phone calls were made from Dubai.He said that a telecommunication analysis reports has been called for from the service providers.
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