Cases have been filed against 6182 owners of properties with high density of dengue mosquito larvae identified during the first National Dengue Prevention week of this year, Ministry of Health said. It was declared by the Ministry from 16 to the 22 of January this year.
(JNW)
January 31, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Sri Lanka A battled their way back into the five-match series against England Lions with a six-wicket win in Kurunegala. Despite Jos Buttler’s second century in three matches for the Lions, Sri Lanka completed their run chase with 15 balls to spare thanks in large part to a composed innings of 94 from No. 3 Dimuth Karunaratne.
Karunaratne, who made his ODI debut during Sri Lanka’s tour of England last year, was involved in a century stand with Bhanuka Rajapaksa after the hosts had lost their first two wickets for just 22. The two youngsters combined to put on 132 in 23 overs, with Rajapaksa recording an almost run-a-ball 72. Karunaratne was denied a century when he was dismissed by Danny Briggs but by then Sri Lanka were comfortably placed to finish the job, with Thilina Kandamby sealing victory – and reaching his own half-century – with a six.
The Lions’ innings had been based around another significant contribution from Buttler, whose first limited-overs hundred brought England victory in Dambulla last week. The Somerset man was on the losing side this time, however, as the rest of England’s batsmen failed to make the most of their starts. Jonny Bairstow’s 31 was the next-best score as England’s momentum, particularly in the closing overs, was repeatedly checked by the tumble of wickets.
Sri Lanka A 263 for 4 (Karunaratne 94, Rajapaksa 72) beat England Lions 258 for 9 (Buttler 119, Prasanna 3-32) by six wickets
(ESPN)
January 31, 2012 at 9:46 pm
Ministry of Higher Education has informed not to seek job opportunities in Cyprus under student visa without inquring from the Ministry of External Affairs and Embassy of Cyprus. The Ministry says it has received information regarding a racket that obtain money from university students promising them job opportunities in Cyprus. Therefore, the Ministry urge all university students not to fall into this as already number of cases related to this racket has been reported.
(JNW)
January 31, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Sri Lanka Army’s first state-of-the-art Army Training Command Headquarters at Diyatalawa was declared open by Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya today(29). This will incorporate all Army Training Schools, Battalion Trainings and all joint military training exercises.
The institute is expected to further streamline and reformulate Army training programmes to suit international standards and local requirements to meet with any challenges, the army media unit said.
(JNW)
January 29, 2012 at 2:52 pm
Seventeen people have died from 15 road accidents reported during the last 24 hours, till 6 a.m. today, Police Media Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. This is the highest number of fatal road accidents reported within a day in the recent past, he added. They were reported from 12 Police divisions.
The number of accidents reported so far this year is 156. Reckless driving, speeding and drunk driving are the main causes behind these accidents.
(JNW)
January 29, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Naval personnel attached to SLNS Pandukabaya of the North-central Naval Command have recovered four pressure mines and four 60mm mortars in the General Area of Puliyankuluma. The Navy Media Unit said they were found on information received by the Navy.
The Navy conducts search operations to clear the general areas of hidden LTTE war-like materials to ensure the public safety.
(JNW)
January 28, 2012 at 11:14 am
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is acknowledging publicly for the first time that a Pakistani doctor provided key information to the U.S. in advance of the successful Navy SEAL assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound last May.
Panetta told CBS’s “60 Minutes,” in a profile to be broadcast on Sunday, that Shakil Afridi helped provide intelligence for the raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collectDNA and verify bin Laden’s presence in the compound. He has since been charged by Pakistan with treason. Panetta said he is “very concerned” for the doctor.
Panetta also told “60 Minutes” that he remains convinced that someone in the Pakistani government “must have had some sense” that a person of interest was in the compound. He added that he has no proof that Pakistan knew it was bin Laden.
(USA Today)
January 28, 2012 at 11:06 am
Private bus services in the Southern Expressway will commence today(27). The ceremony to mark the commencement of bus service will be held at the Makumbura interchange of the Expressway under the auspices of Minister C.B. Rathnayaka this morning(27).
Two luxury buses have been deployed for passenger transportation under the approval of National Transport Commission. The passenger fee for a journey will be Rs.400/-.
The buses will be monitored by the NTC using GSP technology throughout the journey. An alarm will be issued if a bus is being driven exceeding the approved speed limit.
(JNW)
January 27, 2012 at 7:11 am
Sri Lanka’s new Cricket Captain Mahela Jayawardena says he decided to take up the captaincy after considering the present situation of the national team. He also emphasized the decision was not taken because of an outside pressure. Mahela made this statement addressing a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Cricket in Colombo today(26).
Former skipper T.M. Dilshan who also joined the press briefing said that, the decision to step down from the captaincy was an independent one. Dilshan pointed out he was appointed as the skipper till the end of South African tour.
“Media reported number of things about the captaincy during the final leg of the South African tour. But I decided to step down from it, to give the new selection committee a chance to take a decision on their own”, Dilshan said.
Responding to a query made by a journalist he added it was pleasing to see youngsters bloom.
“I gave them a lot of opportunity. Now they are becoming match winners for the team, which is pleasant to see”, Dilshan said.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 8:05 pm
University admission applications for the academic year 2011/12 will be accepted from Sunday(29), the University Grants Commission said. The handbook on university admissions will also be issued on the same day(29), it disclosed.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed with Italy to recognize Sri Lanka’s certification of sailors, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said. Under this MoU, the Italian Maritime Administration will facilitate the Sri Lankan seafarers to be employed on Italian Flag Vessels without holding an equivalent certificate of competency issued by the Maritime Administration of Italy.
Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal in this regard, presented by the President as the Minister of Ports and Highways.
(JNW)
January 26, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Graham Ford has been appointed Sri Lanka coach, replacing Geoff Marsh. Ford, the former South Africa coach, will begin his assignment with the triangular ODI series in Australia next month. His appointment is the latest decision by Sri Lanka Cricket to revamp the setup around the national team – the captaincy was changed on Monday and, last week, the selection panel was replaced before its term expired – following a string of disappointing results.
A statement by the board thanked Marsh for his services; it also thanked Anura Tennekoon, who has been replaced as team manager by Charith Senanayaka.
Sri Lanka’s performances have come in for much criticism since reaching the World Cup final – they have lost every Test and ODI series they have played since then and a new board that came to power in the elections earlier this month have rung in the changes.
Ford last week resigned as head coach of the Dolphins, the Durban-based franchise, saying he wanted to “follow my dreams of involvement at an international level”.
He will be the third coach appointed by Sri Lanka since Trevor Bayliss stepped down after leading them to the 2011 World Cup final. Marsh was appointed for two years in September 2011 and was in charge for the tours against Pakistan and South Africa. His appointment appeared to end a period of upheaval following Bayliss’ exit. Stuart Law, who was Bayliss’ assistant, took over for the England tour before quitting to coach Bangladesh. Rumesh Ratnayake then took over for the home series against Australia, before Marsh’s appointment.
(ESPN)
January 25, 2012 at 8:27 pm
20 persons have been admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo due to the incident at Magazine Prison, Director of the Accident Ward of the Hospital Dr. Prasad Ariyawansa said. Out of them two are in critical condition he disclosed.
Meanwhile, heavy traffic jam has occured in Borella-Baseline Road due to the incident at Magazine Prison, the Police said.
(JNW)
January 24, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Hours after Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka captain, the country’s new selection panel appointed former captain Mahela Jayawardene in his place to lead the ODI squad to Australia for the tri-series in February involving the hosts and India. Angelo Mathews was named vice-captain of the 15-member squad which also included Dilshan.
Farveez Maharoof, the bowling allrounder, andChanaka Welegedara, the fast bowler, were recalled after having last played an ODI for Sri Lanka back in June 2010. The duo were the only changes from the squad for the recent ODI series in South Africa, in place of Kosala Kulasekara and Dilhara Fernando. Thilan Samaraweera, who was ignored for the South Africa ODIs, was put on stand-by.
Sri Lanka squad: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welegedara, Dhammika Prasad
Stand by: Thilan Samaraweera
January 23, 2012 at 9:01 pm
Tillakaratne Dilshan has stepped down as Sri Lanka captain in all three formats, a day after the ODI series against South Africa concluded.
“Dilshan has resigned as Captain in all three formats of the game,” a Sri Lanka Cricket release stated. “Members of the Executive committee take this opportunity to thank Dilshan for his commitment and dedication during his tenure as the National Captain. We also wish him well as he continues to represent Sri Lanka as a National Player.”
Dilshan took over as captain from Kumar Sangakkara after the 2011 World Cup, led his team on tours to England, the UAE [against Pakistan] and South Africa and at home against Australia. His captaincy came under severe criticism as Sri Lanka lost both the Test and ODI series against all the four countries.
Dilshan’s form with the bat dipped during his captaincy as well and despite a historic Test win in Durban, Sri Lanka’s first in South Africa, the loss in the Test series as well as the five-match ODI series put him under added pressure.
(ESPN)
January 23, 2012 at 5:41 pm
For once, the choke was almost on the opposition in a game involving South Africa. Sri Lanka almost messed up what had been the perfect big ODI chase. Their openers had blazed away and their middle order had kept up with the asking rate. Kumar Sangakkara was batting on a silken century with Sri Lanka on 274 for 3 in 44 overs chasing 313. And then came the collapse. Sangakkara holed out. It became 308 for 8 before Sachithra Senanayake, playing his second ODI, slog-swept the penultimate delivery for six to ensure the visitors left South Africa with a respectable 2-3 scoreline.
Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne had looked on course to lead Sri Lanka to their second consecutive successful chase of a 300-plus target after centuries from AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith had boosted South Africa to 312. In only his fifth ODI, Lahiru Thirimanne matched Sangakkara in an ultimately match-winning fourth-wicket partnership of 100, built on the solid start given by the openers. Following a rain delay after seven overs, the bowlers found it difficult to grip the ball.
But having reached his hundred off 96 deliveries, Sangakkara lofted JP Duminy straight to long-off. Fortune seemed to favour Sri Lanka in the next over when Thirimanne inside-edged Morne Morkel past his stumps for a four and off the next ball, Wayne Parnell fumbled at third man in the glare of the floodlights.
With 19 needed off 24, Sri Lanka were still on top. Angelo Mathews, though, chipped a Parnell high full toss to short extra cover to bring the hero of the fourth ODI, Thisara Perera, in. Duminy sneaked in a tight penultimate over to Perera which ended with the batsman smashing another high full toss to deep midwicket.
It came down to six off the final over with Sri Lanka still ahead. de Villiers gambled with Robin Peterson but even he would not have bargained for the left-arm spinner taking two wickets in three deliveries. Nuwan Kulasekara missed an attempted loft over extra cover to be bowled first ball. Rangana Herath sensibly gave the strike to Thirimanne next ball but the latter charged out and sliced the third delivery to short third man. The Wanderers roared with anticipation as Senanayake stepped out to defend the fourth one but was silenced when he slammed the fifth ball for a flat six over deep midwicket. It was also his first scoring shot in one-day internationals.
Sri Lanka 314 for 8 (Sangakkara 102, Thirimanne 69) beat South Africa 312 for 4 (de Villiers 125*, Smith 125) by two wickets
(ESPN)
January 23, 2012 at 6:47 am
Ashantha de Mel, the former Sri Lanka fast bowler, has been named the chairman of the country’s new selection panel, which replaced the one headed by Duleep Mendis. The appointment, made by the sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage, could be the first in a series of changes in Sri Lankan cricket, which could include the axeing of the coach Geoff Marsh and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan after the poor performance in South Africa.
Don Anurasiri, Amal Silva and Hemantha Wickramaratne are the other members of the new selection committee, which has a one-year term. Although the tenure of Mendis’ panel was going to end in February, the appointment of the new panel will come into effect on January 20.
Anurasiri is the only member from the old committee, but de Mel and Silva have served as selectors before. Wickramaratne, a left-hand batsman who played in three ODIs in the early nineties, is new to the role.
Mahela Jayawardene is also likely to be asked to take over the captaincy from Dilshan after the South Africa tour. When asked in Kimberley, on the eve of the fourth ODI, whether he would accept the offer, Jayawardene said, “I will have to think about it. I will need some time.”
(ESPN)
January 19, 2012 at 8:00 pm
