On This Day – 22 July
Between April 2008 and May 2009, he took 47 ODI wickets and became Sri Lanka’s leading one-day strike bowler. By the end of day three –day two was a complete washout– he had inched to 793, with Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket. But the fourth day brought 12 Indian wickets, five of them going to Murali. On the final day, with India following on, Vangipurapu Venkata Sai (VVS) Laxman shepherded the tail, seeking a draw while Sri Lanka pushed for a win and those two wickets for Murali. But Murali got Pragyan Ojha to nick one to slip –a record 77th time c Jayawardene b Muralitharan appeared on a Test scorecard– and, he was carried off the field with 800 Test wickets in the bagWhat a jubilation.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:52 UTC
‘Powerful’ companies evaded taxes for 5-6 years
He pointed out that the reason for this is that these companies have been given the opportunity to appeal three times regarding taxes due. What is done here is to confine the elephants to a single confined area and fence them around. What often happens is that the baby elephants and female elephants are herded into the area. Therefore, this policy should be changed, and the proposals for that have been included in the report, said Prof. Vitharana. Due to this, a comprehensive report has been submitted to revise the policies, he said.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:52 UTC
A Sauna Isn't a Substitute for Exercise, FFS
Saunas don’t replace exerciseSaunas and exercise both heat up your body and make you sweat, but there aren’t many similarities aside from that. Using hot baths or saunas shouldn’t be considered as a substitute for exercise. Use common sense and check with your medical provider if you want to use a sauna to manage a health condition. Spending time in a sauna has also been linked to temporarily lowered fertility because heat impairs the production of sperm. Hydrate well, don’t go alone, and don’t expect the sauna to do things that saunas can’t do.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:41 UTC
Petroleum Development Act in effect by October
Authority to attract foreign expertise/investment to petroleum sectorExtraction of newly found oil, gas deposit the objectiveBy Imsha IqbalThe new Petroleum Development Authority Act (PDA) that contains legal provisions regarding petroleum and natural gas exploration is expected to come into effect in October 2021, The Morning Business learns. Therefore, the Ministry of Energy anticipates establishing an apex body on the matter of hydrocarbon resources, dubbed the Petroleum Resources Development Authority (PRDA), and appointing a board under the mentioned authority. This novel PDA comes following the cancellation of the Petroleum Resources Act No. Ltd. (CLPL) commenced exploration of drilling activities in Sri Lanka during 2011, which marked the first hydrocarbon discovery in Sri Lanka. Thus, the establishment of the new Act is expected to create a domestic petroleum industry that generates enough revenue to pay off national debts, according to Gammanpila.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:41 UTC
A world free of period poverty
And these are just the direct impacts of period poverty. Indirect, broader impacts include opportunity cost to girls whe they are incapacitated because of period poverty that has a knock-on off effect on all areas of life; e.g. What are the biggest challenges of creating a brand that talks about menstrual health and period poverty? To Arka, and Adithi, what does a Sri Lanka without period poverty look like? A world without period poverty would also see people feel comfortable accessing SRH-related resources, healthcare services, and birth control without fear or judgement.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:30 UTC
Arm’s ‘plastic’ chip might power your next smart device
TL;DR Arm has built and detailed a flexible chip made without using silicon. PlasticArm could power wearable sensors, smart labels and other Internet of Things devices. Arm has detailed what it says is the first functional Arm processor based on a flexible non-silicon design. Arm first showed a flexible PlasticArm chip in 2015, but that was a non-functional design hindered by technical limits at the time. See also: Arm vs x86 explainedIt could be a long while before you see phones or smartwatches based on the flexible Arm chip.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 19:07 UTC
Tokyo Olympics Village becomes Covid-19 cluster
A female US gymnastElsewhere, two Mexican baseball players tested positive for Covid-19 before departing for Tokyo, Mexican baseball authorities said on Monday (19). As per Kyodo News, eight more people related to Tokyo Olympics have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Earlier, a female gymnast from the United States tested positive for Covid-19 at her pre-Tokyo Olympic training camp. On Sunday, eight members of Great Britain’s Olympic team entered isolation after coming into contact with a Covid-19 positive person on their flight to the Tokyo Games. Three members of South Africa’s men’s Under-23 football team have also tested positive for Covid-19 and are currently in isolation in the Tokyo 2020 facility.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 18:56 UTC
Young boxer has Olympic hopes
With the well publicised struggles of Sri Lanka cricket, which can easily be classified as the main sport in Sri Lanka, it is an appropriate time to shine the spotlight on other sports and sports personalities who can bring honour to motherland more than ever before. Having done so at the tender age of 10 years, he had taken part in his first boxing meet in 2016 at the L.V. Jayah Meet, the 2016 Stubbs Shield Boxing Meet, and at the Junior Boxing Championships in 2018. “I really understood the intensity of the international boxing matches only when I participated in that bout. Although I lost, it really whetted my appetite for international boxing and made me determined to work harder at practices.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 18:11 UTC
Girl’s death at Bathiudeen’s house: SJB Tamil MPs complain to Police
SJB MPs P. Thigambaram, M. Udayakumar, and M. Velu Kumar, representing the Nuwara Eliya District, accompanied Ganesan to file the complaint. The Police stated that investigations have revealed that the girl was brought to the house in October 2020, when she was 15 years and 11 months old. The Borella Police also informed the court on 16 July that they are investigating whether the girl was sexually abused after coming to Bathiudeen’s house or whether it had taken place at the house where she was staying before arriving at Bathiudeen’s house. Bathiudeen, who was in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over his alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings, was hospitalised on 17 July after informing the CID officers that he was ill. Upon being examined by doctors, the MP was admitted to the emergency treatment unit (ETU) of the hospital.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 18:00 UTC
Justice for Easter victims protest held
BY Buddhika SamaraweeraA silent protest demanding justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019 was held yesterday (21). It was demanded that the Government expedite the investigations into the bombings and bring justice to the victims. Rohan Fernando claimed that the investigations into a number of important issues related to the terror attacks had been suppressed. “Preparations are now underway to file cases regarding the Easter Sunday terror attacks; however, they are not going to be filed after proper investigations. Speaking to the media, its President Brito Fernando said that 27 months had passed since the Easter Sunday terror attacks, but no satisfactory investigation has been carried out.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 18:00 UTC
Micromax readying new In smartphone launch for July 30
Indian smartphone brand Micromax is set to unveil its latest In-series phone on July 30. Based on the latest rumors, Micromax could announce its In 2b and In 2c smartphones. The two yet-to-be-released devices were spotted in Geekbench listings powered by the Unisoc T610 chipset and 4GB RAM. Other than that there are plenty of unknowns surrounding the upcoming launch. There’s a chance we could also see some accessories like TWS earphones and more from Micromax.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 17:15 UTC
JVP to challenge Basil’s brainchild
BY Buddhika SamaraweeraThe Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is preparing to initiate legal action against the ‘Finance Bill’ presented to the Parliament by the Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. “The businesses of those who have been unable to repay bank loans, leases and are facing a major crisis as a result, are closing down. This is to facilitate tax evaders who have not been exposed and have defrauded the people of their tax money. Alleging that the ruling Rajapaksas’ economic strategy was to encourage illegal gains, Silva said that the Bill presented to Parliament was “very serious”. Such a serious Bill is going to be presented to the Parliament now and be passed in the future,” he further added.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 16:52 UTC
UN Rights Chief concerned over ‘Pegasus’
By Pamodi WaravitaUnited Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called the apparent widespread use of the spyware “Pegasus” to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians around the world as “extremely alarming”, following the leak of a list of about 50,000 phone numbers of people allegedly of interest to clients of the Israeli technology firm behind the software, NSO Group. The use of surveillance software has been linked to the arrest, intimidation, and even killings of journalists and human rights defenders,” she stated on Monday (19). “Journalists and human rights defenders play an indispensable role in our societies, and when they are silenced, we all suffer. Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has reportedly stated that although the likelihood of the use of the Pegasus spyware in Sri Lanka cannot be ruled out, there is no assertive evidence on the matter. When contacted, the Free Media Movement (FMM) was not aware of the matter as far as it pertained to Sri Lanka.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 16:52 UTC
All Mental Health Institute patients partially vaccinated
By Pamodi WaravitaNearly all of the approximately 650 patients receiving long-term care at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have been partially vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, with the NIMH having also requested vaccine stocks for those who require repeated admission to care facilities at said hospital, The Morning learnt. “Most of the 650 patients receiving long-term care facilities have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. We conduct a PCR test and then isolate the patient for 48 hours until the results are obtained. Afterwards, we do not allow them to mix with the other patients until seven days have passed,” noted Dr. Ranasinghe. On Tuesday (20), 1,487 new patients were identified and 43 deaths were reported as a result of the virus.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 16:41 UTC
Legalising the notion of sub-humans
Similar acquisitions had been made by the Spanish, the French, and others, using a similar type of distinction between sub-humans and humans. This could be empirically observed in the manner in which the early employers of the colonial administration were selected and trained. Perhaps the underlying reasoning was that these sub-humans were not capable of understanding these laws or the institutions through which these laws are enforced. For those engaged in the administration of the colony, this distinction between sub-humans and humans may also have provided some ease of conscience. And all that could be justified by maintaining this distinction between humans and sub-humans.
Source:The Nation
July 21, 2021 16:30 UTC