Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned less than 18 months into his tenure, becoming the country’s shortest-ruling leader after conceding that he lost majority support to govern. Muhyiddin, who came to power in March 2020, will remain as caretaker until a new premier is appointed, the palace said in a statement. One government minister wrote on social media that the Cabinet had tendered their resignations to the king and a deputy minister thanked Muhyiddin for his service. Mr Muhyiddin will perform the prime minister’s duties until his successor is appointed. In the statement, Malaysia’s King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, also added that holding general elections in the near future “is not the best option” due to the welfare and security of the people.

Three persons were arrested yesterday in various areas of the country in connection with narcotic related offences, Police Spokesperson Senior DIG Ajith Rohana stated. Accordingly, the Western Province Crimes Division arrested a 41 year old woman with 1 kg and 200 g of Kerala cannabis in the Sapugaskanda area. Meanwhile, the Divisional Crime Detection Bureau of Anuradhapura arrested a 30 year old individual for possession of 10 g of heroin. Additionally, the Special Task Force (STF) was involved in the arrest of a person in the Wellampitiya Police area for possession of 43 g of Ice. Senior DIG Rohana notes that continuous anti narcotic operations will be carried out and urged the public to inform authorities of any such activities by dialing 1997.

The Foreign Ministry wishes to clarify the following with regard to the current situation in Afghanistan and the ongoing efforts to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals there:· The Foreign Ministry is currently in the process of working with international partners to facilitate the return of Sri Lankan nationals in Afghanistan, if they wish to return. · The Sri Lanka Embassy in Kabul, which is functioning from a hotel, currently does not have any Sri Lankan nationals present and is manned by one local staff. · The Embassy is in possession of details of forty three (43) Sri Lankan nationals in Afghanistan while the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE) has certain details as well. The Sri Lankan nationals present in Afghanistan mostly work for the United Nations, international organizations, NATO military bases and private companies. · The Foreign Ministry remains appraised of the situation and will make every effort to ensure the safe return of Sri Lankan nationals, if they wish to return.

A total of 15 people across multiple areas in the country were arrested yesterday (15) for the offence of treasure hunting, Police Spokesman Senior DIG Ajith Rohana noted. Meanwhile, the Hasalaka Police arrested another six persons along with the materials used to conduct treasure hunting operations. The Special Task Force (STF), during a special operation in the Mawathagama Police area arrested another three persons as well. Senior DIG Rohana stated that all arrestees will be produced before the respective Magistrate courts today (16). He also urged the public to inform Sri Lanka Police if they are aware of any such treasure hunting efforts by dialing 1997.

August 16, 2021 11:04 amFormer Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s brother-in-law, Mohamed Shiabdeen Ismat, has been ordered to be released on bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. The 44-year-old brother-in-law was recently arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a young woman who worked as a domestic helper at the MP Bathiudeen’s official residence from 2015 to 2019. When the case was taken up today (August 16), Chief Magistrate Buddhika C. Ragala ordered the suspect to be released on a personal bail worth Rs. Further, the suspect was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court.

The Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka has issued a statement with regard to the current situation in Afghanistan and the ongoing efforts to evacuate Sri Lankan nationals in the war-torn country. The Foreign Ministry says it is currently in the process of working with international partners to facilitate the return of Sri Lankan nationals in Afghanistan, if they wish to return. The Sri Lankan nationals present in Afghanistan mostly work for the United Nations, international organizations, NATO military bases and private companies. The Foreign Ministry said it remains appraised of the situation and will make every effort to ensure the safe return of Sri Lankan nationals, if they wish to return. Overnight, the focus was Kabul airport, where hundreds of desperate Afghans seeking to flee the country were waiting for flights, some dragging luggage across runways in the dark, foreign media reported.

The 22-year-old virgin, a self-confessed ‘involuntary celibate’, had an obsession with guns and violent computer games from the age of five, according to reports. In 2016, he was let go by police despite hitting Scott Hobbs 15 times and punching his girlfriend Sherrie – sending her falling on to her stomach and fearing she could lose her unborn baby. Mr Hobbs, 25, told The Sunday Mirror: ‘The police didn’t seem to take it very seriously. He claimed the killer had been taking both amphetamines and bodybuilding anabolic steroids since at least December. He told The Sun: ‘He was popping lots of pills... he became edgy, aggressive – and was basically a ticking timebomb.’

China, Russia, Pakistan and Turkey all appear set to formally recognise Taliban rule in neighbouring Afghanistan after the Islamist terror group seized the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Sunday and the country's embattled president fled for Tajikistan. In dealing with the Taliban, an increasingly powerful China may be able to leverage the fact that, unlike Russia or the United States, it has never fought them. After their meeting with Wang, the Taliban said they hope China can play a bigger economic role. Russia is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, Britain, France, and China. We must now live up to our obligations, especially to those Afghan people who worked so bravely with British representatives in Afghanistan.

This is because governments around the world mandate that cryptocurrency exchanges comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws. Over the years, trading platforms have cumulatively lost Regulatory oversight: Unlike stock exchanges, cryptocurrency trading platforms can be incorporated anywhere in the world. : Unlike stock exchanges, cryptocurrency trading platforms can be incorporated anywhere in the world. If centralized cryptocurrency exchanges don’t appeal to you for some reason, consider peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platforms for cryptocurrency investing. As mentioned previously, cryptocurrency trading platforms are a common and lucrative target for hackers.

a chart indicating possible wages proposed in the previous player contract schemeBy Revatha S. Silva* ‘Three prodigal sons’ remain to be out* Couple of new players added including Asitha, Chamika, Avishka* Reassessment to be made before January 2022Following months of protracted disputes, arguments, and counterarguments, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has finally decided to offer player contracts for the year 2021. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of SLC, headed by Aravinda de Silva, intervened in making the player contracts for this year yet players, allegedly manipulated by a couple of seniors, refrained from signing the contracts citing lack of transparency in player categorisation. Later it was reported that the TAC conceded its powers on player contracts to the Board at meeting held with the Minister of Sports. The new contracts will be from August till the end of December, when the new player assessments will be redone. All the issues that were here and there will be rectified from January onwards,” the SLC ex-co official further added.

Decision follows discussions with Central Bank, CabraalBY Cassendra DooleThe debt moratorium on capital and interest for the tourism industry will extend to 31 December 2021, The Morning Business learns. The debt moratorium was extended by six months from 30 September 2020 until 31 March 2021 when the pandemic was taking hold of Sri Lanka. The Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga previously told The Morning Business that the tourism sector is just beginning to rise up once again and due to the time, it will take to get back to normal, facilitating their needs is necessary. Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is among the top three foreign exchange-earning sources of the country. According to a statement made by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), from March 2020 to June 2021, over $ 950 million in investments were received by the Government of Sri Lanka in order to revitalise the tourism sector of the country.

“The cost of the remaining members of the squad (to travel to the World Cup) will have to be borne by the board,” a senior Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) official confirmed yesterday (14). “The ICC bears the expenses of only 15 players and eight officials,” he had further added. Sri Lanka to play in Abu Dhabi firstSri Lanka are to play the first or qualifying round of the World Cup, to be held from 17-23 October, in Abu Dhabi, along with three other countries of their Group (A): Ireland, Namibia, and Netherlands. Sources said there is a major possibility that players such as Ashan Priyanjan, Angelo Perera, and Asela Gunaratne who are now featuring in the SLC Invitational T20 League in Kandy are most likely to feature in the final Sri Lanka squad for the World Cup. Meanwhile former Sri Lanka Captain has not yet confirmed his availability for selection and is still in his ‘self-imposed’ non-availability.

Now, 50% of the health system has been dedicated to Covid-19 patients. Thus, those 80% of the deaths are murders for which the President is responsible for,” alleged Dissanayake. “The Covid-19 situation is very grim at the moment in the country. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant of the Covid-19 virus is at least two times as transmissible as the original virus. The Health Promotion Bureau (HPB) said that 3,263 new cases and 160 new deaths were reported on Saturday due to the virus.

Capsaicinaz LM Foundation is an NGO founded by law student Zainab Rafeek, who has longed to find a cure for cancer since she was a little girl. Rafeek, since her childhood, has always been an inquisitive, curious kid who always loved doing social work for the community. Mental health panel discussionRafeek was inspired to start up Capsaicinaz LM Foundation because of the ongoing pandemic. I also knew I wanted the world to start with the letter C to stand for ‘cure’ and ‘curiosity’ which led me to begin this foundation,” explained Rafeek. They also have collaborations coming up with the Indira Cancer Trust and a mental health association in Sri Lanka.

By Ranjika PereraThenuka Nanayakkara scored 13 points to steal the win for CH&FC against Air Force in the first leg of the Air Force Commanders Cup rugby encounter at Ratmalana on Friday (13). (File Photo)Former Peterite fly-half Thenuka Nanayakkara scored 13 points, including the winning penalty in the last minute, to steal the win for CH&FC in the first leg of the Air Force Commanders Cup rugby encounter against Air Force at Ratmalana on Friday (13). The full time score read CH&FC 23 and Air Force SC 21. Matters got worse for CH when Malinga Shehan was sin-binned and it led to the second try for Air Force. The matches are held under the supervision of the Commander of Sri Lanka Air Force, Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana.