Sunday, 03 January 2021 - 12:16
Since the evacuation of 33 students from Wuhan City, in February 2019, the Ministry has been carrying out the task of repatriation for almost a year now and to date 60,470 Sri Lankans, composed of pilgrims, students, Officials of Government or Armed Forces, migrant workers, short term visitors, sea farers and cases on compassionate grounds have been repatriated from 137 countries by the Ministry through the Sri Lanka Missions overseas. Despite the worsening global situation triggered by the Covid pandemic, the process of repatriation of Sri Lankans, one of the most pressing challenges at hand has been judiciously spear headed by the Foreign Ministry under the directive of Minister Dinesh Gunawardana, enduring insurmountable challenges overseas amid lockdowns, isolations, curfews and closure of air space, to ensure swift return of Sri Lankans who are in distress.
Sunday, 03 January 2021 - 16:08
A man (stowaway) who clung to the undercarriage of a jumbo jet and survived an 11-hour, 5,639-mile flight from South Africa to London has spoken for the first time of his terrifying journey.
He recalled how he emerged from a coma months later to learn his best friend had fallen 5,000ft from the aircraft to his death.
Themba Cabeka, whose identity is revealed for the first time, was unconscious in hospital for six months after being discovered on the ground at Heathrow Airport. He had been starved of oxygen and subjected to temperatures of -60C as the British Airways jet flew from Johannesburg on June 18, 2015.
Saturday, 02 January 2021 - 10:29
England fly to Sri Lanka on Saturday evening with a psychologist in their ranks and an insistence from their captain, Joe Root, that the emergence of any Covid-19 cases will not automatically trigger an end to the tour.
The two-Test series that begins on 14 January, rearranged from March when the pandemic cut short the trip. This kickstarts nearly three months on the subcontinent for the men’s national teams, with a full tour of India to follow that features four Tests, five Twenty20s and three one-day internationals.
Root described the South Africa cancellation as “a unique situation” and stressed the decision was made above their heads. But he added that Sri Lanka and India represents “a level up” as regards the challenge of touring during the pandemic.
Thursday, 31 December 2020 - 7:30
The last two months have been the most difficult months for Sri Lanka in its measures to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 90% of deaths and 75% of all covid infected cases have been reported in these two months.
There has been an increase of 40% in the cases reported in December compared to November in spite of November reporting more than 50% of all cases at the time.
Apart from the cases moving beyond Western province in to the other areas, the number of cases and deaths reported in these two months (Nov & Dec) have been alarmingly high.