Import duties for potatoes reduced
Import duties for potatoes have been reduced to Rs.15/- with immediate effect, the Ministry of Finance said. Earlier Rs.35/- were charged as import duties for potatoes, it said.
(JNW)
December 12, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Close Watch Archive
40 lorries arrested for not transporting vegetables in plastic containers
40 lorries have been arrested by the officials of the Consumer Affairs Authority at Hanwella and Peliyagoda areas for not transporting vegetables in plastic containers, Minister of Trade Jhonston Fernando said.
Transporting vegetables in plastic containers was made mandatory by the Ministry of Internal Trade with effect from midnight of December 11. Minister Jhonston Fernando had stated that raids would be carried out to take legal action against those who violate the law.
(JNW)
December 12, 2011 at 8:46 am
Sangakkara doubtful for first Test against SA
Kumar Sangakkara is a doubt for the opening Test against South Africa after splitting the webbing on his right hand during the warm-up match against an Invitational XI in Benoni. His concerns added to Sri Lanka’s problems as they ended the rain-hit three-day match in a more wounded state than when they began having also watched Nuwan Pradeep tear his right hamstring.
Pradeep suffered his injury after bowling ten deliveries on the second day and, while he was not immediately ruled out of the tour, it seems likely he’ll soon fly home . Sri Lanka were already without four injured quicks who didn’t make the original squad. Sangakkara, meanwhile, faces a tight timeframe to be ready for the first Test at Centurion on Thursday after tearing webbing between the first and second fingers on his right hand while fielding at point and did not bat on the final day.
He has had three stitches in the wound and hopes “it will settle over the next three to four days.” However, although the injury was played down by team manager Anura Tenekoon, Sangakkara himself was cautious about his prospects. “We just have to keep an eye on it and see how we go,” he said. “That’s the annoying thing about these little injuries. We can’t say for certain.”
(ESPN)
December 12, 2011 at 12:01 am
Paranavitana hits ton in the warmup match at SA
Sri Lanka’s top three were able to spend much-needed time in the middle on the third day of their tour match against the South African Invitational XI. Tharanga Paranavitana was dropped twice on his way to a century before retiring, Tillakaratne Dilshan scored an aggressive, almost run-a-ball 74 while Mahela Jayawardene battled for his 26.
Kumar Sangakkara was moved down the order after he split the webbing between fingers on his right hand while fielding on Saturday. He did not bat but is expected to recover in the next day or two and team manager Anura Tenekoon said the injury was “not serious.”
Sri Lankans 207 for 3 (Paranavitana 100, Dilshan 74) drew with South African Invitation XI 357 (Elgar 78, Fernando 4-76)
(ESPN)
December 11, 2011 at 11:21 pm
Heroin worth more than Rs.100 million & a suspect arrested by Navy
Heroin worth more than Rs.100 million and a suspect has been arrested by the Navy at Thalpadu area in Mannar, its spokesman Commander Kosala Warnasuriya said. It has been revealed that the suspect who is 30-years of age is involved in drug trafficking, he disclosed.
Indian currency worth Rs.2370/-, a mobile phone, a Sri Lankan credit card and 9 SIM Cards have also been found in his possesion. The suspect and the heroine has been handed over to the Police Narcotics Bureau for further investigations, the Navy spokesman said.
(JNW)
December 11, 2011 at 5:22 pm
A/Level results could be released by next week – Exam Dept.
Department of Examination expresses belief the G.C.E. Advanced Level results could be released by next week. Issuing a common z-score level for the results of the students who face the examination under old and new syllabuses have delayed issuing of results, a spokesman of the department told JNW.
Discussions with regard to the matter have already being held between the Department of Examination and the Ministry of Higher Education. Thus a five member committee has been appointed to determine on how to issue z-scores without causing injustice to any student, secretary to the Ministry Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne said.
(JNW)
December 11, 2011 at 11:20 am
Tough day for Sri Lankan bowlers at the warm-up match in SA
The Sri Lankan bowlers struggled through their first opportunity to play on South African pitches and conceded heavily on the second day of their warm-up match. No play was possible on the first day due to persistent rain and a wet outfield. On the second, South Africa’s Invitation XI opted to bat first, denying the Sri Lankan batsmen time to adjust to local conditions. They capitalised on a pedestrian Sri Lankan attack and each of the top four scored half-centuries.
The Sri Lankans lost Nuwan Pradeep to a hamstring injury after he had bowled just 10 deliveries. Dilhara Fernando got better as the day went on while Angelo Matthews’ first overs in a first-class match for more than a year went fairly well. In the spin department, Ajantha Mendis bowled the bulk of the overs and was worryingly inconsistent; Thilan Samaraweera and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan were acceptable as part-timers; and Rangana Herath was, by some distance, the team’s best bowler.
For the Invitation XI, Dean Elgar showed both class and temperament and was the likeliest candidate to go on to record a century. Reeza Hendricks partnered him with aplomb, in an opening stand of 148, before Stiaan van Zyl and Rilee Rossouw built a 95-run partnership. When wickets fell, they did in clusters but the Invitation XI’s batting was dominant for most of the day.
South African Invitation XI 323 for 6 (Elgar 78, Herath 2-44) v Sri Lankans
(ESPN)
December 10, 2011 at 10:20 pm
SL Army emerge victorious at the “Tour De Sri Lanka Youth” Cycling Competition
Sri Lanka Army has emerged victorious at the “Tour De Sri Lanka Youth”, inaugural National Cycling Competition, by grabbing the top three spots of the event. The tournament, which was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development together with National Youth Services Council reached to an end at the Matara, Sanath Jayasuriya grounds today(10).
Lakshman Wijeratne, Dileepa Prabath and Sameera Chathuranga of Sri Lanka Army won the first, second and third places respectively, while Sudeera Nilanga of Sri Lanka Police was fourth to end the competition. Fifth place of the tournament was won by Kumara Abeysinghe of Sri Lanka Air Force.
The event which began from Batticaloa on December 08 covered a distance of 366 km. Minister Dallas Alahapperuma and Chairman of National Youth Services Council Attorney-at-law Lalith Piyum Perera were present at the Matara, Sanath Jayasuriya grounds today(10) to witness the finish of the competition.
The prize giving ceremony of the tournament will be held at the Sports Ministry grounds in Colombo tomorrow(11) under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Winner of the tournament will receive a luxury car and a cash prize worth Rs.4 million.
(JNW)
December 10, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Final total lunar eclipse of year 2011 to occur today
Final total lunar eclipse of this year will occur today(10), the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies said. It will begin at 5.03 p.m. and will end at 11.00 p.m. Sri Lankan public will also be able to witness the eclipse in total, partial and penumbral forms. The total eclipse will occur at 8.02 pm. It can be viewed by the naked eye and using the telescopes as well.
(JNW)
December 10, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Two teenage girls & a 28 year old male commit suicide by hanging themselves at Eppawala
Two teenage girls from same family and a 28 year old male have committed suicide by hanging themselves at Kadigama in Eppawala, Police Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. Police has launched investigations in to the incident, he added.
(JNW)
December 10, 2011 at 10:05 am
Third & final term of all govt. schools ends today
Third and final term of all the government schools and government approved private schools will end today(09), the Ministry of Education has announced. All schools, except the 88 schools that will be used as evaluation centers for the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination, for the year 2012 will commence on January 02. They will reopen on January 09, the Ministry said.
(JNW)
December 9, 2011 at 7:09 am
Iran displays captured US drone
Iranian TV has shown the first video footage of an advanced US drone aircraft that Tehran says it downed 140 miles (225km) from the Afghan border.
Images show Iranian military officials inspecting the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft which appears to be undamaged.
US officials have acknowledged the loss of the unmanned plane, saying it had malfunctioned.
However, Iranian officials say its forces electronically hijacked the drone and steered it to the ground.
Iran’s Press TV said that the Iranian army’s “electronic warfare unit” brought down the drone on 4 December as it was flying over the city of Kashmar.
Brig General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace unit, told Iranian media that the drone “fell into the trap” of the unit “who then managed to land it with minimum damage”.
He said Iran was “well aware of what priceless technological information” could be gleaned from the aircraft.
Nato said at the weekend that an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week when its operators lost control of it.
Pentagon officials have said they are concerned about Iran possibly acquiring information about the technology.
Iranian media said on Thursday that the foreign ministry had summoned the Swiss envoy to express its “strongest protest over the invasion of a US spy drone deep into its airspace”.
Washington has no diplomatic relations with Iran and US affairs in the country are dealt with via the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
(BBC)
December 9, 2011 at 5:42 am
Virender Sehwag scores record 219 runs to secure series against WI
It took nearly four decades for a batsman to score the first double-century in one-day international cricket but less than two years for the second. Virender Sehwag, the batsman most touted to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the highest individual ODI score, didn’t merely break it – he shattered it and raised the bar so high that it’s hard to imagine anyone, apart from Sehwag himself, raising it higher.
Unlike Tendulkar in Gwalior, Sehwag wasn’t running out of time as he raced towards 200 in Indore. He got there in the 44th over and had made 219 off 149 balls by the time he was dismissed in the 47th. And in one of cricket’s stranger coincidences, both ODI double-centuries were scored in the same Indian state – Madhya Pradesh – at venues less than 500 kilometres apart.
Sehwag’s performance led India to 418 for 5, their highest ODI total, and sealed victory in the five-match series against West Indies. It was an innings characteristic of Sehwag’s approach to batting. He hit his second ball for four and simply did not stop. He took plenty of risks too, surviving two run-out chances and two dropped catches, but thundered on, ensuring India’s run-rate stayed above seven after the 15th over. Sehwag’s only out-of-character moment came in the 20th over, when he dived to avoid being run out. Sehwag never dives. It was a sign that he was determined to stay the course. He went to 50 off 41 balls, to 100 off 69 balls, to 150 off 112 and past 200 off 140. The record was broken with a withering cut that sped to the backward-point boundary, and he celebrated with an aggressive fist-pump before breaking into a smile.
Before this game, and after each of the previous three, Sehwag had admitted that the top-order failures, which he contributed to, were the reason India had struggled in their chases. Sehwag had made a duck in the previous match in Ahmedabad, where India lost, but led by example today.
India 418 for 5 (Sehwag 219, Gambhir 67, Raina 55) beat West Indies 265 (Ramdin 96, Jadeja 3-34, Rahul Sharma 3-43) by 153 runs
December 8, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Transporting vegetables in plastic containers made mandatory from midnight of Dec 11
Transporting vegetables in plastic containers has been made mandatory with effect from midnight of December 11, Minister of Internal Trade Johnston Fernando said. Raids will be carried out to take legal action against those who violate the law.
The Ministry has already distributed 350,000 plastic containers throughout the country, he disclosed. “400,000 more to be distributed as well”, the Minister added. “More than Rs. 2 billion are wasted due not transporting vegetables securely”, he pointed out.
(JNW)
December 8, 2011 at 11:35 am
Qatari Prime Minister to arrive in Sri Lanka
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani will arrive in Sri Lanka for a two day official visit on December 12, the Government Information Department said. A joint committee to promote economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries will be appointed during the visit, it added.
(JNW)
December 8, 2011 at 11:30 am
Three members of a same family shot dead at Hambegamuwa area
A person has shot dead three members of a same family & injured another before killing himself at an incident occured at Hambegamuwa area, Police Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. The shooting has taken place at around 8.15 last night, he added.
It has been revealed that the suspect who carried out the shooting had a relationship with the 19- year old female who has been injured in the incident and a personal dispute among them has led to the incident. The persons who have died are her father, mother and elder sister, the Police Spokesman said.
The Hambegamuwa Police is conducting further investigations on the incident.
(JNW)
December 8, 2011 at 7:45 am
Army Commander meets India’s Tri-Forces’ Commanders
Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya who is engaged in a 5 day visit to India has met country’s Tri-Forces’ Commanders, the Army Media said. Issues on security and training were discussed in the meeting, it added.
(JNW)
December 7, 2011 at 1:05 pm