DWP shares new plan to help Universal Credit and ESA claimants with disability or health condition into work

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.

GOOD Morning Britain host Kate Garraway gave an emotional update on Derek Draper's health this morning. The 55-year-old star appeared on Lorraine Kelly's show with co-host Ben Shephard when she opened up about her husband. Derek was taken to intensive care with Covid in March 2020 and only allowed home in April the following year.

(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.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Parliamentarian & Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament on Friday (2) that the project to dig trenches as a solution to the Human-Elephant Conflict is a failure.Sarath Fonseka said that a ruling party MP from Ampara had proposed for trenches to be dug as a solution to the human-elephant conflict.Fonseka said warned that digging up a trench that is 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep would pose a direct threat to the river systems in the country.He added that even though the Department of Wildlife Conservation had not approved the project on technicalities, a 55-kilometer-long trench has been dug up, and the allegation is that the project is being used to illegally remove soil and sand.His comments were met with strong opposition from the ruling party in the house.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters Next on Friday (2) that changes to the G20 Common Framework on debt restructuring were needed to speed up debt treatments, freeze debt service payments once a country requested help, and open the process to middle-income countries like Sri Lanka."We are concerned that there is a risk for confidence in debt resolution to be eroded at a time when the level of debt is very high," Georgieva said."We don't see at this point … a risk of a systemic debt crisis," she said, adding that countries in debt distress were not large enough to trigger a crisis that would threaten financial stability.Source: Reuters

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The 3rd term for all Government & Government-approved schools will commence on Monday (5).The Education Ministry's Additional Secretary for School Affairs Lalitha Egodawala speaking to News 1st said that the 2nd term concluded on Thursday (1) and Friday (2) was declared a holiday for all schools.Christmas holidays for schools will commence on the 22nd of December, and schools will re-open on the 2nd of January 2023.Thereafter, schools will close for a month from 20th January to 20th February 2023 for the G.C.E.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's State Ministry of Higher Education says the cut-off marks for university entrance based on the results of the recent A/L examination will be released today (2). The Ministry further said that it has planned to enrol 44,000 students in the universities this year based on the cut-off marks.Over 85,000 students applied for admission to state universities this year.The selected students are scheduled to start their academic activities in each university in January 2023.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Chairman of Sri Lanka Thriposha Ltd Deepthi Kularatne says Thriposha production resumed after suitable stocks of maize were made available.Nearly, 60,000 triposha packets are being produced by the company daily and are being distributed across the country.He further said that the production of triphosha products for mothers will continue.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Department of Meteorology says that showers or thundershowers will occur in Northern and Eastern provinces and in the Hambanthota district.Showers or thundershowers will occur elsewhere during the afternoon or night.Fairly heavy showers above 75mm are likely at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.Condition of Rain:Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Pottuvil via Kankasanturai, Trincomalee and Batticaloa. Showers or thundershowers will occur in the other sea areas during the afternoon or night.Winds:Winds will be north-easterly and wind speed will be (20-30) kmph.State of Sea:The sea areas around the island will be slight.Temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Fitch Ratings has downgraded Sri Lanka's Long-Term Local-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CC', from 'CCC', and has affirmed the Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at 'RD' (Restricted Default). Fitch typically does not assign Outlooks to ratings of 'CCC+' or below.Fitch has also removed the Long-Term Local-Currency IDR from Under Criteria Observation, on which it was placed on 14 July 2022, following the publication of the updated Sovereign Rating Criteria.A full list of rating actions is at the end of this rating action commentary.KEY RATING DRIVERS:Challenging Domestic Financing Outlook: Sri Lanka continues to service its local-currency debt, but the downgrade of the Long-Term Local-Currency IDR reflects our view that a local-currency debt default is probable, in view of an untenably high domestic interest payment/revenue ratio, high interest costs, tight domestic financing conditions and rising local-currency debt/GDP in the context of high domestic fiscal financing requirements, which authorities forecast at about 8% of GDP in 2022.According to authorities, domestic interest payments in 8M22 were LKR718.8 billion, taking the domestic interest/revenue ratio to an estimated 56% in 8M22; the highest among sovereigns rated 'CCC+' and below.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda said recently (29) that due to the fuel crisis, steps will be taken to introduce electric motor boats for fishermen from next year.The Minister mentioned this at the meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on fisheries in Parliament.The minister pointed out that it is expected to introduce electric motor boats that can travel 100 kilometres using batteries and the cost is only 86 rupees per day to fishermen engaged in small-scale fishing.The Minister also mentioned that attention has also been paid to providing electricity generation facilities through solar panels and wind turbines for boats using kerosene and diesel.State Minister of Fisheries Piyal Nishantha, mentioned that a special mobile service is being implemented successfully by the ministry to solve the problems faced by the fishermen.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's President, Prime Minister, Speaker and other public representatives stood in unity with the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus for Global Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) on Thursday (1).A wristband given to Parliamentarians with the message “Let’s Unite to end Gender Based Violence” as a sign of support.

NEW DELHI : National AIDS toll-free helpline, lifetime free ART services and regular viral load monitoring for PLHIV are some of the steps taken by the government to strengthen HIV/AIDS and STD response, said Union Minister of state for Health and Family Welfare, Bharati Pravin Pawar on Thursday.  Addressing the World AIDS Day celebrations, the minister said that the World AIDS Day is an opportunity to show solidarity with people living with HIV (PLHIV) and create awareness for the same. “The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Equalize’, which is a slogan for a call to action for all connected with this crusade.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that a bill on gender equality and women's empowerment will be submitted to Parliament soon and he also instructed the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to prepare the bill. The President emphasized that women's representation should be increased not only in the Parliament but also in other sectors and the public sector as well as the private sector should focus their attention in this regard. The President pointed out that the representation of women in the First Council of Sri Lanka was 2% and 91 years after universal suffrage, the representation of women in the current parliament is only 5.3%. President Ranil Wickremesinghe made these observations by joining the Committee Stage Debate on the budget proposal for the financial year 2023 in parliament on Thursday (01). Statement issued by the President's Media Division:“I expect to speak especially on the Ministry under me. We thank the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus for commencing a 16-day campaign against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). It was in 1931 that Sri Lankans got the universal franchise.

Sarah Beeny has been inundated with supportive messages from fans today after she shared a positive update following her recent cancer diagnosis.The 50-year-old shared a selfie of her wearing a purple woolly hat as she enjoyed a walk out in the open.Alongside the post, she revealed she was feeling more "human" following a recent picture of her back in hospital for treatment.She wrote: "It may be cold but WHAT a beautiful morning!!"One of my very fav hats I’ve been given and feeling human! You were right - it does pass!"Many of the presenter's 245,000 followers flocked to her post to comment.Zara Tindall's hug with Mike on I’m A Celeb questioned by Ant and DecSusieqbach typed: "Hang on in there, Sarah. Looking marvelous, out there using all your senses, smell that air, hear those birds, see those views."Shelleylilburne wrote: "Very cute hat...

COLOMBO (News 1st)- Sri Lanka's Public Security Secretary S. Hettiarachchi expects to deploy the Police Special Task Force to crack down on drugs and underworld criminal activity."Prisons are reaching maximum capacity because of the rising number of drug users.

Stephen Robinson insists St Mirren will “play their part” in protecting players from developing dementia after they’ve retired.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A Sri Lankan and a Russian died after a three-wheeler collided with a train in Galle on Thursday (1) morning.Sri Lanka Police said the Russian was a female, and the train was travelling from Beliatte to Vavuniya. The three-wheeler had caught fire following the accident at the Maharamba Railway Crossing in Galle.Sri Lanka Railways said that there may be minor delays in operations.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Hambantota International Port announced that another luxury cruise MV Azamara Quest is expected to arrive on December 5th.The MV Azamara Quest will become the second cruise ship to dock at the Hambantota International Port this year, after the visit of Mein Schiff 5.Passengers from the Mein Schiff 5 visited Colombo, Yala national park, Udawalawe wildlife park, and the historical rock temple of Mulkirigala.Bundala National Park, Hambantota Botanical Gardens, Galle and Kataragama were popular destinations among the Mein Schiff 5’s passengers. MV Azamara Quest (IMO: 9210218) is a Passenger Ship that was built in 2000 (22 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Malta.Its carrying capacity is 30277 Gross Tonnage and its current draught is reported to be 5.9 meters.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's Cabinet approved a hike in electricity tariffs under two steps in January and June 2023.A statement from Sri Lanka Parliament said that although the electricity tariff has been increased in the past, it is not sufficient to cover the loss of the electricity board and thus, the request to increase the electricity bill has received cabinet approval. This was disclosed at the Sub Committee on Identifying the Short & Medium-Term Programmes related to Economic Stabilization of the National Council held on Wednesday (29).Accordingly, the Cabinet has approved increasing the electricity tariffs under two steps in January and June 2023.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena endorsed the certificate on the “Appropriation (Amendment)” Bill which was passed in Parliament on Wednesday (30).This bill to amend Appropriation Act No. 30 of 2021 was presented by the Prime Minister and Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Dinesh Gunawardena on 15th of November, 2022.Accordingly, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Appropriation Act, No.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has told Scots “I am sorry” over long waits for ­treatment in our crisis-hit NHS.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka Police arrested three people from Silvan Lane in Panadura over a shooting incident on Wednesday (30) night.News 1st correspondents said that among the arrested was an attorney.According to Sri Lanka Police, the attorney and two others had visited a house in Panadura on Wednesday (30) night and an argument had broken out over a monetary transaction.As the argument had escalated, the attorney had taken out his licensed pistol and fired into the air.Sri Lanka Police said that the pistol, and the vehicle owned by the attorney, were taken into custody.NO one was injured in the shooting.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Litro says it will distribute 100,000 domestic LP gas cylinders daily from today (1) without any shortage during the festive season.Litro said that a vessel carrying 3,740 MT of cooking gas arrived in the country yesterday (30).The Chairman of Litro, Muditha Peiris confirmed that gas has been ordered as per the requirement, as the demand for gas increases during the festive season.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) said the water supply will be interrupted for 15 hours tomorrow (2) to several areas in the Colombo district.The water cut will be in effect from 10.00 PM on Friday (2) to 1.00 PM on Saturday (3) in Colombo 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.NWSDB urged the people to gather the necessary water in advance to avoid inconveniences.Further, NWSDB said that the water supply will be interrupted due to the laying of new transmission pipes related to the Ambatale Energy Improvement Project.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka says that there will be daily outages during the festive season starting today (1).The Chairman of the PUCSL Janaka Ratnayake says the power crisis is ongoing due to issues in generating hydropower and purchasing coal.He adds power cuts will have to be imposed until the issues are resolved.However, PUCSL approved power cuts of 2 hours and 20 minutes on 1st & 2nd December as follows;Groups ABCDEFGHIJKLPQRSTUVW: 1-hour during daytime 1-hour 20-minutes during the night

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The Department of Meteorology says that showers and thundershowers may occur over the island from tomorrow (2).Meteorology says that there is a high possibility for afternoon thundershowers over the island and morning showers over the Northern and Eastern provinces from tomorrow (2).A few showers will occur in Northern and Eastern provinces.Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Sabaragamuwa province and Galle and Matara districts during the afternoon or night.The misty condition can be expected in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces and Galle and Matara districts during the morning.Condition of Rain:Showers may occur at a few places in the sea areas over the island during the evening or night.Winds:Winds will be north-easterly or variable in direction and wind speed will be (20-30) kmph. State of Sea:The sea areas around the island will be slight. 

PACKED Lunch host Steph McGovern revealed that she was forced to turn down I’m A Celebrity due to a health reason. The TV presenter, 40, said she's been asked several times to take part in the ITV show, but has been reluctant to sign up as she has irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Channel 4 star Steph explained that she worries that the jungle diet would wreak havoc on her body.

Colombo (News 1st) – Sri Lanka roared back to square the ODI series with Afghanistan in Pallekelle on Wednesday (30th) by chasing down an imposing target of 313. The hosts won by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare after a record breaking knock of 162 by Afghan opener Ibrahim Zadran.Sri Lanka started the run chase briskly with Kusal Mendis (67) and Pathum Nissanka (35) putting on a 101-run opening stand.

Colombo (News 1st) – Sri Lanka’s babies are starving! A comprehensive report by the Family Health Bureau of the Ministry of Health shows alarming levels of malnutrition among children under 5 years, nationwide, in October 2022. Following the assessment, it was reported that a staggering 42.9% of children under 5 years are having some form of malnutrition problem which includes growth faltering, underweight, wasting, and stunting. This alarming trend is seen in all age categories – infants, 1-2 years, 2-5 years – and in all three sectors – urban, rural and estates.The highest percentage of children under 5 years with any kind of malnutrion problem was reported from the Ampara district where 59.4% or 3 in 5 children are suffering from malnutrition. A total of 1 million, 363 thousand, 7 hundred and 47 children were weighed and measured in all of Sri Lanka’s districts in the month of October. Nationwide, the percentage of Underweight Children under 5 years increased to a staggering 15.3% from 12.2% last year. Children with Wasting increased to 10.1% from 8.2%. Children with Stunting increased to 9.2% from 7.4%. The percentage of children with Severe Wasting is a shocking 1.4%.The report notes that “Sri Lanka, at present is enduring an economic, energy and political crisis resulting in many families desperately needing assistance.

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.

A woman has told how newly-launched choirs in Dumbarton and Helensburgh are improving members’ mental health.

 

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has announced a special power management update for tourism zones in Sri Lanka for December.In a series of Tweets, Minister Wijesekera said the Southern Province and Ella Tourism zones will be exempted from the 1 hour 20 minutes power cut during the night from the 1st of December.The power cuts of 1 hour imposed during the day and 1 hour 20 minutes at night enforced islandwide will continue until the 15th of December.He tweeted, "With the scheduled addition of Unit 3 of the Norochcholai Power Plant to the National Grid on the 15th of December, all tourism zones identified by the Ministry of Tourism will be exempted from night time power cuts."This will also result in night time power cuts enforced islandwide being reduced to 1 hour. He said, however, there will be no power cuts during Christmas and New Year.

₹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.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – History will be made when Costa Rica face Germany on 1 December 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium when Stephanie Frappart becomes the first woman in the history of the World Cup to referee a finals match in the men's tournament.However, it will not be the first time the 38-year-old French referee has written her name into football history. Frappart was also the first woman to referee a Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League game.Frappart will be joined by assistant referees Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Díaz Medina for the crucial Group E game.Before the World Cup, Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said of the three female referees at the World Cup: "They were not selected because they are women, but as FIFA referees.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A man and a woman were brutally stabbed with a sharp weapon at the Wewala Junction in Hikkaduwa on Wednesday (30) morning.Sri Lanka Police said that the man succumbed to his injuries upon admission to the hospital. The woman is currently being treated for stab wounds.Investigations are underway, said Sri Lanka Police.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – History will be made when Costa Rica face Germany on 1 December 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium when Stephanie Frappart becomes the first woman in the history of the World Cup to referee a finals match in the men's tournament.However, it will not be the first time the 38-year-old French referee has written her name into football history. Frappart was also the first woman to referee a Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League game.Frappart will be joined by assistant referees Neuza Back of Brazil and Mexico’s Karen Díaz Medina for the crucial Group E game.Before the World Cup, Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said of the three female referees at the World Cup: "They were not selected because they are women, but as FIFA referees.

Lanarkshire nurses have been urged to accept a new pay deal by the country’s largest health union.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – A group of officials from the Criminal Investigation Department and the Foreign Employment Bureau have been deployed to the United Arab Emirates.The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment said steps are being taken to repatriate 77 people residing in the UAE and Oman on tourist visas.The Bureau said an internal investigation was also launched regarding former Secretary to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oman E. Kushan, who is facing charges over sexual harassment of a woman in Oman.He was remanded till the 13th of December 2022 after he was arrested by the CID on Tuesday.An internal investigation was launched against E.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – President Wickremesinghe says that the world is still no closer to the implementation of a universal action plan to combat climate change. issued a statement President Wickremesinghe yesterday (29) issued a statement after participating in the COP 27  United Nations Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt earlier this month.The President was critical of the countries that were historically accountable for the greatest damage and who are capable of meaningful contributions but who have stymied the furtherance of climate action.Following is the statement issued by President Ranil Wickremesinghe“For 27 years, world leaders have been meeting under the COP framework to confront the greatest threat to the future of humanity – climate change. Yet, we are no closer to the implementation of a universal and collaborative plan of climate action as mandated by the COP process.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Five suspects have been arrested with heroin and an overseas-manufactured live hand grenade, in their possession.This operation was carried out by the Police Special Task Force in the Ragama area.Sri Lanka Police said that 32.720g of heroin, a passport, 05 mobile phones, a van and a motorcycle were also seized.The suspects, who are between ages 20 and 40, have been handed over to the Colombo Crime Division.The Police further said, after reporting facts to the Wattala Magistrate's Court, they obtained a seven-day detention order and will conduct further investigations.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Today’s exchange rates from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka:USD Buy 361.2379 Sell 371.7170GBP Buy 430.4286 Sell 447.3859EUR Buy 371.6659 Sell 386.9802JPY Buy 2.5840 Sell 2.6917AUD Buy 239.1567 Sell 250.2936

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The provision of food aid to 66,000 families in Sri Lanka has commenced. Chairman of the Presidential Committee on National Food Security Dr Suren Batagoda said that Rs.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – The train schedule will be revised from the 5th of December, in stages.The General Manager of Railways Gamini Seneviratne says that the Kelani Valley railway line's schedule will be revised from the 5th of next month. He further said that the changes of other routes will be informed in due course as well. At the same time, he says that the train operations will have a change of 5 to 10 minutes.Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Railway Department said that due to the shortage of employees, there are obstacles to the continuation of the railway service.He further said that NO action has been taken so far to fill the existing 8000-employee vacancies. Sri Lanka Railways said that it has sought permission from the Public Services Commission to meet the staff requirements, however, no permission has been granted yet.Due to this matter, it has become a problem to summon retired personnel back to work.

COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lanka's housing minister Prasanna Ranatunga told Parliament that 76 MPs who lost their houses and property to arson following the unrest that broke out since May have been given temporary housing at the Viyathpura Housing Scheme in Kalalgoda.He told Parliament that these houses were given for a period of one year, with a monthly rental charged from the occupant MP. "Not a single MP was given a house free of charge," he told the house in response to a claim made by an opposition lawmaker.The Minister said the complex comprises 106 houses for MPs, and 76 of them have been given on rent to MPs, and if any other MP has a requirement a vacant house can be provided on rent.He also said that these houses can be purchased by MPs as well to be used as their permanent residences.