Special tri-member bench to hear Easter attacks case
September 1, 2021 11:21 amA special three-member panel of judges has been appointed to hear the case regarding the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Reportedly, the Chief Justice has appointed the aforementioned special bench. High Court Judge Damith Thotawatte will act as the presiding judge of the case. Judges Amal Ranaraja and Navaratne Marasinghe will serve as the remaining judges.
Source:The Nation
September 01, 2021 05:48 UTC
CJ appoints Trial-at-Bar to hear Easter attacks case
September 1, 2021 by Aazam Ameen No CommentsChief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya has appointed a 3-Bench Trial-at-Bar to hear the case relating to the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks of 2019. Accordingly, the Trial-at-Bar will consist of Justices Amal Ranaraja, Nawaratne Marasinghe and Damith Thotawatte. Justice Thotawatte will head the Trial-at-Bar.
Source:The Nation
September 01, 2021 05:37 UTC
Is SL’s tea industry facing a disaster?
Master tea maker Herman Gunaratne, one of 46 experts picked by Rajapaksa to guide the organic revolution, fears the worst. He says the country’s Ceylon tea has some of the lowest chemical content of any tea and poses no threat. Organic tea costs 10 times more to produce and the market is limited, Gurunada added. He said Sri Lanka’s food security had been “compromised” and that without foreign currency it is “worsening day by day”. Tea plantation owners say that on top of the loss of earnings, a crop failure would cause huge unemployment as tea leaves are still picked by hand.
Source:The Nation
September 01, 2021 04:18 UTC
Details of COVID vaccine clinics operative today
The Ministry of Health will continue with its COVID vaccination programmes in many parts of the island today (September 01). Accordingly, the Sinopharm jabs will be administered to people in Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Nuwara-Eliya, Matale, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Badulla, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa, Kalmunai and Trincomalee districts. Meanwhile, the second dose of the Moderna vaccine will be rolled out in all MOH areas in the Kandy District. AstraZeneca first doses are delivered in the Kegalle District through all MOH offices and mobile vaccination teams. More details on the inoculation centres operated by the Health Ministry can be obtained from its official website.
Source:The Nation
September 01, 2021 03:45 UTC
Official begins discussions over safe passage for Brits and Afghans
British officials have opened talks with the Taliban about getting UK citizens and allies out of Afghanistan, it emerged last night. 'I would just say that since April when we have been planning and instituting this, over 17,000 British nationals, Afghan workers, vulnerable special cases are out. 'I know that the number of UK nationals, the particular responsibility of the Foreign Office, is now down at a very low level.' I can tell you that for UK nationals we've secured since April over 5,000, and we're in the low hundreds (remaining).' It is unclear how many of those British nationals who are still in the country have decided to stay of their own volition.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 22:52 UTC
How Vaccine Side Effects Compare to COVID Symptoms
Photo: Thaiview (Shutterstock)The COVID-19 vaccines have become somewhat notorious for their side effects: fatigue, sore arm, maybe a fever. In a few rare cases, there are more serious complications, like inflammation of the heart. So is it riskier to get a vaccine or to take your chances with COVID itself? A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine set out to answer this question, comparing the moderate to serious symptoms people experience after the Pfizer vaccine with those that people experience with a COVID infection. But the way the Delta variant is currently raging, COVID is not a rare disease at all.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 21:33 UTC
Sri Lanka player sold at India’s IPL-like kabaddi league
This marks the first occasion a Sri Lankan had been bought by a pro kabaddi league auction in the history of sports in the island. Kabaddi is almost synonymous with one of the oldest traditional sports in Sri Lanka named Chaggudu or Gudu. The PKL player auction was held from 29 to 31 August (yesterday) in Mumbai. Babar, who had studied at President’s College, Embilipitiya, plays kabaddi for the Sri Lanka national team and Navy. Like IPLThe PKL is a professional kabaddi league, launched in 2014 and is broadcast live on TV with considerable fan following.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 21:00 UTC
SLC’s ‘iron lady’ Yamuna Pitigala no more
Nicknamed ‘iron lady’ of the national cricket board, her versatile abilities had been very much known among the local cricket administrators for a long time. She had been suffering from a chronic kidney disease and was 56 years at the time of her demise. Pitigala had been working in the Marketing Department of SLC and, in 2012, was suspended from work unceremoniously for allegedly exposing some corruption of the then officials of the SLC Marketing Department. Later, Pitigala worked again at SLC in different other departments. Her funeral was held yesterday (31 August) in Colombo.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:37 UTC
Not Just Sports: How Mandela united South Africa through sports
Nelson Mandela went onto the pitch wearing the team’s traditional green cap and jersey following South Africa’s unlikely 1995 Rugby World Cup win under Captain Francois PienaarSport has the power to change the world. Nelson Mandela saw the value in sport. He saw an opportunity to heal and unite an increasingly divided South Africa, wrote Sunil Sharma in February 2019. Mandela went onto the pitch wearing the team’s traditional green cap and jersey following South Africa’s unlikely 1995 Rugby World Cup win. Mandela saw the power of sport early on but in a number of different ways.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:15 UTC
Barely teenage Olympic medallist
Participating in the Olympic Games is the dream of all sports persons. In that scenario when a teenager, and barely a teenager at that, qualifies and takes part in the Olympics, it certainly is an anomaly. Sky Brown is only 13 years old and is already an Olympic bronze medallist. By winning this medal, she has become the youngest Olympic medal winner in the history of Great Britain. When Sky won her medal, she won it less than a month after celebrating her 13th birthday.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:15 UTC
Antoine Griezmann completes sensational return to Atletico Madrid from Barcelona
By Pete Jenson and Ollie Lewis For MailonlinePublished: 11:32 EDT, 31 August 2021 | Updated: 15:43 EDT, 31 August 2021Antoine Griezmann has sealed a dramatic move back to Atletico Madrid' on loan from Barcelona with the obligation to buy. A deal between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for Antoine Griezmann is closeThe Frenchman is open to a return to Atletico after a tumultuous time with the Nou Camp sideDe Jong will give Koeman another option up front with the cash-strapped club having lost Lionel Messi and now Griezmann, two of their marquee names. Griezmann had been linked with a swap deal involving Saul Niguez, who is set to join Chelsea, but hope of that was soon extinguished earlier in the transfer window. Despite the departure of superstar Lionel Messi this summer, Griezmann has still been linked with a Nou Camp exit. Earlier on deadline day, Mundo Deportivo reports that Griezmann could be returning to Atletico Madrid in a swap deal involving a different star, Portugal international Felix.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:03 UTC
UNP approaches 75th anniversary, ready to unveil National Plan
As the United National Party (UNP) approaches its 75th anniversary, Chairman Vajira Abeywardena has announced that a National Plan for the Building of Sri Lanka will be detailed during the anniversary celebration. The UNP is the parent political party that created various political parties in Sri Lanka. September 6 marks the 75th anniversary of the United National Party. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will make his address through Zoom and Facebook technology from 5 pm to 6 pm on September 5. Further, after September 6, 75 meetings across Sri Lanka using Zoom technology will take place.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:03 UTC
Landlords Still Can't Evict You in These States
That means millions of renters now face eviction, although some states have their own eviction bans still in place, and rental assistance is available—despite a delayed rollout in many states. What happened to the federal eviction moratorium? Pritzker hasthe existing eviction moratorium, through Sept. 18, 2021.Minnesota renters not eligible for emergency rental assistance are protected from eviction until Sept. 12. Fortunately, access to rental assistance is slowly improving. If you haven’t done so already, check out the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s new Emergency Rental Assistance Dashboard, which allows you to search for rental assistance in your area.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 20:03 UTC
Over 6.7 m watch Messi’s debuts for PSG
Lewandowski scored two more after the hour-mark to register his first hat-trick of the season. Dortmund took a 2-0 lead before the hour, after Giovanni Reyna and Jude Bellingham scored a goal each. Hoffenheim remained in the hunt after Christoph Baumgartner scored their first, with 20 minutes remaining on the clock. * Ligue 1: Messi makes first appearance in PSG’s win over ReimsIt was not Kylian Mbappe’s brace that took the headlines in Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) 2-0 win over Reims on Sunday. In total, over 6.7 million people tuned in to watch PSG’s win at some point during the 90 minutes.
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 19:52 UTC
On This Day – 1 September: India win Test cricket series in Sri Lanka after 22 years
1939 – The last day of first-class cricket in England before the declaration of war against Germany two days later. It was the most publicised world title match ever played and Fischer was the first American to win the title1976 – England women’s cricket Captain Clare Connor was born. 23.3 b approximately in today’s value)Ishant Sharma (on left) and Dhammika Prasad had a heated confrontation on the fourth day before India staged a come-from-behind win against Sri Lanka at the SSC in 2015 to record a Test series win in Sri Lanka after 22 years2015 – A come-from-behind win against Sri Lanka at the SSC gave India their first Test series victory in the country since 1993. Sri Lanka were set a target of 386. Angelo Mathews scored a fighting century and Kusal Perera scored an aggressive fifty, but Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma combined to give India victory by 117 runs, and with it their first overseas series win since 2011
Source:The Nation
August 31, 2021 19:18 UTC