Colombo (LNW): Thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places in Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Uva, Southern and North-Western provinces, the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology said in an advisory statement today (07).
There may be temporary localised strong winds during thundershowers, the statement added, urging the public to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by lightning activity.
The Dept further advised the public to seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees, avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms, avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms, avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc., beware of fallen trees and power lines, and to contact the local disaster management authorities for emergency assistance.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) indicates appreciation against the US Dollar today (07) in comparison to yesterday, as per the official exchange rates released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
Accordingly, the buying price of the US Dollar has dropped to Rs. 321.59 from Rs. 323.94, and the selling price to Rs. 331.96 from Rs. 334.40.
The Sri Lankan Rupee, meanwhile, has also appreciated against several other foreign currencies, including Gulf currencies.
Asia Rugby President “Qais Al Dalai” to Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Roshan Ranasinghe
The Ministry of Sports announced that the suspension placed on Sri Lanka rugby was revoked during a recent meeting convened in Paris. It is reported that the decision, which has been validated by Qais Al Dalai, will be formally disclosed in the coming days. Additionally, the Ministry’s media unit has conveyed that there was a comprehensive discussion regarding the incorporation of essential amendments to the constitution of Sri Lanka Rugby. This would involve the removal of voting rights for associations that do not make substantial contributions to the advancement of the sport.
We have elucidated the justifications behind the initial suspension of Sri Lankan rugby right from the outset. Just from the aforementioned two points in this announcement, one can glean insights into the conduct of the minister and the conduct of Asia Rugby. Asia Rugby should deal with Sri Lanka Rugby. It is an internationally recognized tradition.
However, Lasitha Gunaratne, who previously held the position of rugby president and was recently a member of the Minister’s National Sports Council, cast his vote in favor of Qais Al Dalai’s opponent.
In light of this situation, Qais Al Dalai, who had previously been somewhat distant from Sri Lanka Rugby, got in touch with Namal Rajapaksa, who was appointed as Sports Minister at that time, and his friend, a former Sri Lanka Rugby President, Asanga Senaviratne. That is putting the relationship with Sri Lankan Rugby in the second place. This is a step that international Olympic sports, such as rugby, typically do not undertake. But the minister and Qais Al Dalai are working in agreement to connect Namal Rajapaksa to the administration of rugby by creating a position that is not in the constitution for Asanga Senaviratne, who can bow down politically. n the same letter regarding the appointment, the Director General of Sports has noted the relationship between the two parties. For that, there is no good response from Sri Lanka Rugby.
The reason is because that, both Lasitha and Asanga had accumulated substantial debts during their respective tenures and had eroded the trust of the rugby administration. Also because Sri Lanka Rugby is still paying a fine of £50,000 to the international federation for sending foreign players to international matches for Sri Lanka during Asanga’s presidency.
Both Minister Namal Rajapaksa and Minister Roshan Ranasinghe aligned themselves with the Asia President and, until recently, supported the obstruction of the former President while imposing bans on Sri Lanka rugby. This action was a consequence of the verbal conflict between the Asia President and the Sri Lankan President.
This occurred because the Asia Rugby and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Sports made decisions concerning Sri Lankan rugby, bypassing the rugby administration that had been appointed to represent the official rugby community in Sri Lanka with the majority’s approval. This is a significant error.
When this issue was transferred from Minister Namal Rajapaksa to Minister Roshan Ranasinghe, the decision taken by Minister Namal Rajapaksa before that was unraveling before the court. But instead of accepting that decision as the ministry and the minister, Roshan Ranasinghe behaved to find a reason to somehow ban the Rugby administration while protecting the personalities of the ministers.
In the end, the Sports Minister relied on the proposal put forth by the Asia President to utilize his authority in banning Sri Lanka Rugby, and he also stood on it. The minister’s actions demonstrated his failure to stand up against what was expected of a leader in preventing unwarranted interference in his country’s sports affairs, highlighting a significant lapse in his leadership.
This is a question that needs to be read from the beginning and asked from one’s own conscience. The minister should have conducted an inquiry into the Rugby President’s actions, so that the international community could feel it.
Even though there were decisions to be made after that, the sports minister always made tough decisions based on his power and they were often given international prohibitions and had to be backward according to the instructions of the law.
Anyway, even at this moment, the Asia President does not inform the official rugby administration that represents the country in his region that the international ban will be lifted, but he also informs the minister of that fact.
The political authority and the Asia President are talking about the sport of rugby. In this state of mind, it is not difficult to identify the minister as well as the Asia President who is angry about Sri Lanka not voting in two ways.
The Asia Rugby has taken the help of Sri Lankan politics and has already made up for the loss of not getting the vote by strategically destroying the pride of Sri Lanka Rugby which is more than a hundred years old.
Also, due to those lapses and obstructions, Sri Lanka Rugby team, which did not function properly, was brought down and they paved the way to push forward from the first round of this year’s Asian Games and managed to finish the tournament above Sri Lanka.
Sports Minister Mr. Roshan Ranasinghe expressed his gratitude to the officials of the World and Asia Rugby for establishing a robust governance framework and affording the Sri Lanka Rugby team the opportunity to engage in international competitions in the days to come.
This is also substantiated in the press release issued by the Sports Ministry regarding the dialogue between the Asia President and the Sports Minister concerning Sri Lanka Rugby. This implies that all necessary actions in Sri Lanka Rugby will be carried out with the support of the Asia President, and it’s an endeavor led by the Minister.
As the Minister Namal Rajapaksa brought a new committee together with the Asia President to shape the shape of Sri Lanka Rugby so that his country can dominate Sri Lanka further, he uses the Sports Minister who wants to be the almighty of this country’s sports.
At the Asian Games, with the blessings of the Sri Lankan Ministers, the Asia President prepared the coffin for Sri Lanka Rugby. Now the minister is preparing to find a hoe for the Asia president to dig a groove and dig pits. The initial phase has been accomplished successfully.
The current minister will skillfully lead the game to easily fill the pride of Sri Lanka Rugby for hundreds of years with insults and defeats by achieving the next step of the Asia President who managed to pass Sri Lanka in the Asian tournament and get close to the previous high level of Sri Lanka in Asia. This photo captures the meeting between the Sports Minister and the Asia President. Undoubtedly, this harmony will work to show more good games in the future.
During this chilly season, the sports minister is always behind the dreams. While some may appear pointless, this one felt superb. The individual who thinks that ICC is some kind of planet thought to entrust his brother Arjuna to ‘Mr. Dealdasa’s son’ instead of going directly directly anointing him as the cricket king.
But brother, I can’t do as I destroyed my enemy. Minister Pulatisi recollected his memory and told ‘Sira’ that he remembered countless screw ups from this son. Handsome young man, regardless of the circumstances, please take him,” the voice from the other end of the line conveyed.
The minister circled his mouth like a netball and planted a kiss on the phone. It was a fortunate call, it brought great joy to Mr. Deal’s son. Brother, we must engage in a conversation with the world. We must say that legally, these individuals are wrong. “Let’s make a deal bro” said Little Deal.
He could not control the heartbeat, because deals are mixed with his blood. We will do those. And will consider you too. ‘You have to give us the rope. We will decide how far to go’. Having said that, the minister instructed deal son to arrange to speak in front of the world and then went indoors to change his attire.
The minister contemplated the appropriate setting for his speech, Arjuna’s manner is the best. National asthma. Even today there are people who think cricket became Sri Lankan because ‘Sarong’. He thought while ironing the national asthma. And thought it would be even better if he could grow a beard.
However, farming is also in demand. Thinking that suddenly after a long time the sarong worn will fell down, Ironed the asthma thinking that the Amude as the identity of Rajarata should also be worn that the country can see. When thinking about what to talk about, thinking about the country’s cricket in a heavy emotional way, want to cry a little. At the same time, I can lifted a sarong and wipe my tears to show Amude as the identity of Rajara. With that, i can fool the entire pulathisipura again. The minister devised a splendid nice plan.
When came out after planning the work, Deal’s son had prepared two letters. One for the media and the other for the ICC countries.
The minister was moved to tears when he thought of how the ICC is not even looking at it, how they are crying to get the sympathy of those countries by blaming the ICC and thinking of their commitment to cricket.
Brother Arjuna scolded the one in India with so much national feeling, thinking that we shouldn’t be traitors. The minister even felt how the secretary of India got tears and forgot that he had put on glasses and went to wipe the tears from the mirror and broke the mirror. When the Secretary of India thought that it was with that feeling that he said that he paid money to the boys of the Premadasa field to buy the match, the minister confirmed that surprisingly the Indian who has patriotic ideas would think that he would buy it as a patriot.
At first, he thought it was bullshit, but when he thought about the society that accepted most of the nonsense as patriotic stories, Sri Lanka and India, because both are South Asian, he justified that thought.
“Brother, let’s create this video from my office at the Ministry, We’ll place three or four national flags around me. As I deliver my speech, I’ll passionately kiss the flag twice, and then kneel down.”
Deal’s son said that when Amude hides what showing and kneels down when he says the rest, the camera won’t see it. Then agreed to be patriotic just by kissing. Amazing practical wisdom. Thinking that the work will be done perfectly, the minister gave twenty-four kisses.
Protect himself from the minister’s kiss more and more, he thought that I should ask my father to bring the group from the Avan Guard as well. ‘Wait a little, brother, I will go on a lucky trip.’ On the way, he ran to an apartment and said.
Now the work is going up. Camera work. The lights are on. One hundred microphones and ten cameras. Deal son explained the reason for the lack of cameras by saying that there are cameras here that work for about twenty channels. The work started. It came to the point of crying. I lifted the sarong to show Amude. covered face. It was only after I closed it that remembered that Amude had left it in that apartment.
By that time, however, all the e-mails that sent the international letter had been opened and looked at. Therefore, there was nothing left for the international community to retract. That video will be important for the natives who do not know that there is no cloth until they see it.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka cricket has gone with the winds of commercialization, internal bickering and external geo politics coupled with indecent tactics under the cover of cricket rules of neighbouring countries to down the island nation by hook or by crook.
Adding fuel to under fire Sri Lanka Cricket board for its own failure and subject to allegation of corruption within, the sports ministry has opened a can of worms by appointing an interim committee sacking the current board members.
He has taken this action without informing the country’s president and the cabinet of ministers breaching the International Cricket Council guidelines which will result in the loss of Sri Lanka‘s ICC membership ,several cricket stalwarts said.
They noted that although action should be taken against the cricket board for alleged corruption of some members, it could have been done following proper legal and administrative procedures.
With the commercialization of sports and most of the icons becoming overnight millionaires mainly due to individual sponsorship packages and the sports governing bodies making money once again through a selling of various facilities.
However when the going was good it looked so healthy and convenient and in cricket the purity of the game was often bartered to suit the whims and fancies of the sponsors, betting agents, corrupt dealers and womanisers. But this is the twenty-first century and we have to live with the current realities, they claimed.
Sri Lanka national team’s 2023 world cup journey ended up with sheer beating from Bangladesh underdogs in every aspect of the tournament who displayed their indecent behavior during their match against Sri Lanka.
Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi would not only go down as one of the most controversial ones of this tournament but also in the entire history of World Cups.
The match had its heated moments right from the beginning whether it was a war of words between Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis and Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib or the stare games between Charith Asalanka and the Bangladesh bowlers.
But all hell broke loose when Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews was given out timed out in the 25th over. He became the first cricketer to be given out timed out in the history of international cricket.
In the internal cricket crisis hours after Sports Minister Roshan Ranasingha appointed an interim committee headed by former cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga to assume control of Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday.
An angry President Ranil Wickremesinghe telephoned Ranasingha and asked for an immediate explanation as to why he had made such a move without consulting him or the cabinet, local media reported.
Later last evening when the cabinet convened, President Wickremesinghe questioned Ranasingha in front of the ministers as to why he made a sole decision and even the composition of the members was questioned.
All Ministers questioned Ranasingha as to how retired judges would run the functions of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and why Rakitha Rajapakshe, who is the son of Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and Hisham Jamaldeen, son of A.J.M. Muzammil were appointed to the committee local print madia high lighted.
As a result, a four member ministerial committee headed by Foreign Minister Ali Sabry was appointed to look into SLC’s future activities and the gazette notification issued appointing the SLC interim committee members. The other ministers are Kanchana Wijesekara, Manusha Nanayakkara and Tiran Alles.
Colombo (LNW): The Court of Appeal has issued an order to temporarily halt the implementation of the gazette regarding the establishment of an interim committee for Sri Lanka Cricket.
This decision came in response to a writ application filed by Shammi Silva, the President of Sri Lanka Cricket, on Tuesday.
The order from the Court of Appeal will remain in effect for a duration of fourteen days.
Colombo (LNW): Government is to regulate Sri Lanka’s microfinance sector as only 5 institutions have been registered out of around 11,000 microfinance institutions operating in the country says the Minister of State for Finance, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.
The Minister disclosed that steps will be taken to implement a separate authority to regulate the microfinance institutions.
The Minister pointed out that the rural low-income people are the most affected by these institutions, which are operating without regulation, and about 3 million people are affected by various inconveniences.
Saying that this problem has now reached the international level, Mr. Siyambalapitiya mentioned that new laws will be brought to regulate the microfinance sector.
However, he further noted that operating such micro-finance institutions that do not fulfill the legal requirement is an offense punishable by a fine of 5 million rupees and imprisonment of 5 years.
The government reiterates the need of a legal framework to regulate unregulated money lending activities so that a better and more effective regulatory environment is created for money lending institutions in the future.
A suggestion has been made to amend the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016 to suit the current development and financial issues.
The State Ministry for Micro Finance will appoint a special committee to look into grievances and gather information of borrowers who have already fallen into the micro finance debt trap.
It will make recommendations and find remedies to financial problems faced by rural poor as soon as possible, a senior ministry official said.
State Minister Shehan Semasinghe revealed at meeting of officials that the micro finance committee comprising officers from the Treasury, Central Bank, State Ministry of Micro Finance, and representatives of money-lending institutions will collect all data relating to the present situation of the business and submit a report soon.
For over a decade the Central Bank has tried to regularise the microfinance sector in the country and finally on July 15, 2016, the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016 was introduced.
It has enacted a direction to curtail the interest rates charged from the borrowers by Licensed Finance Companies (LFCs).
The Act has provision for the creation of a Credit Regulatory Authority to provide for the regulation of the money lending and the microfinance businesses and to provide for matters connected to it, including protection of customers of said businesses.
The main objectives of the Authority is to regulate and supervise licensed moneylenders; licensed microfinance institutions, coordination with regulatory authorities of Co-operatives, Samurdhi community development banks and entities formed under the Agrarian Development Act.
However, the problem is much larger and complex than on the surface and it is essential to take several corrective measures to stabilise the industry, financial experts said.
Micro finance lending involving banks and finance and leasing companies has become a complex problem in Sri Lanka, the experts said adding that patch work solutions will not help in solving this burning issue.
Colombo (LNW): Even amidst Israel –Hamas war in Gaza strip and evacuation of Sri Lankns working there, Sri Lankan worker migration to war torn country is to continue due to economic hardships in the island nation.
Israel’s Minister of Interior Moshe Arbel and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Israel Nimal Bandara have signed an agreement, which will allow Israel to immediately hire 10,000 Sri Lankan farm workers.
This follows Sri Lanka cabinet approval last week allowing Israeli companies to bring 5,000 workers to the country for the agricultural sector, Israeli media reported.
Israel’s agricultural sector has been hit hard by the war. Since October 7, some 8,000 foreign agricultural workers have fled Israel out of 30,000 foreign workers in the farming sector.
During the vicious attack on October 7, Hamas terrorists slaughtered dozens of foreign workers and took several dozen hostage in Gaza.
At the same time some 20,000 Palestinian agricultural workers have been banned from entering the country, the report said.
The first Sri Lankan agricultural workers within the framework of this agreement should arrive in the coming weeks.
There are already 4,500 workers from Sri Lanka employed in Israel, most of them working in the homecare sector.
Sri Lankans stranded in war ravaged areas in Israel are now being evacuated amidst severe transport difficulties, international media reported.
Foreign Affairs Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry appreciated the constructive role played by Qatar in opening the Rafah border crossing, which allowed hundreds of foreigners, including 11 Sri Lankans, to enter Egypt from the Gaza Strip.
While issuing a media release, the Minister thanked the State of Qatar, under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, for its successful mediation efforts, paving the way for the release of many hostages.
During a meeting with Ali Hassan Alemadi, Charge d’Affaires of the Qatar Embassy in Colombo, the Foreign Minister conveyed Sri Lanka’s appreciation in this regard.
The evacuation of foreign passport holders and injured from Gaza through the Rafah crossing has reportedly paused since Saturday due to Israel’s targeting of an ambulance, official Egyptian sources told Reuters.
The shared crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only way in and out of the Palestinian enclave, had opened up temporarily last week to allow the exit of hundreds of foreign passport holders and the critically wounded.
The crossing has been shut for regular traffic since the start of the war on October 7 following multiple Israeli attacks. Egypt said it requires to receive a green light from Tel Aviv to open the crossing.
On November 1, Rafah opened for the first time for evacuations following a reported Qatar-brokered deal with Egypt, Israel and Hamas, in coordination with the United States.
Colombo (LNW): The Online Safety Bill, along with its provisions, aligns with the country’s constitution and can proceed with a simple majority vote following specific amendments during the committee stage, the Supreme Court declared today (07).
The announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision that the proposed Online Safety Bill is not inconsistent with the Constitution was made by the Deputy Speaker in Parliament on Tuesday.
It was clarified that while certain clauses of the bill would require a special majority for passage, these clauses can be approved by a simple majority if they are modified during the committee stage.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) happens to be steady against the US Dollar at leading commercial banks in the country today (07) in comparison to yesterday.
At Peoples Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar are Rs. 320.42 and Rs. 332.16, respectively.
At Commercial Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar are Rs. 320.65 and Rs. 331.
At Sampath Bank, the buying and selling prices of the US Dollar are Rs. 321 and Rs. 331, respectively.
