Sri Lanka during their practice this week at R. Premadasa Stadium under new Captain Dasun Shanaka (3rd from left) as their Fast Bowling Coach Chaminda Vaas (extreme left) looks onThere have been significant changes in the match timings of India vs. Sri Lanka 2021 white-ball series starting on Sunday (23). Changed match timesThe ODI series will conclude on 23 July when the third match will be played. The T20I series will now start on 25 July with the final match of the tour to be played on 29 July. Not only the dates but the match timings have also been altered. The ODI matches were to originally start at 2.30 p.m. but will now start 30 minutes later at 3 p.m.

The President’s renewable energy targets have faced a hurdle, as experts claim that achieving 70% of the country’s electricity generation by renewable energy sources by 2030 was not practical. But prior to execution, the renewable energy plan should be included into the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) Long-Term Energy Generation Plan and approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL). Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Samarakoon explained: “We are preparing the renewable energy plan to achieve 70% renewable energy by 2030 based on the instructions given by the President. Accordingly, at the end of 2018, the total renewable energy capacity reached 2,009 MW, which includes 1,399 MW of major hydro and 610 MW of other renewable energy. When queried about the solar power rates, Samarakoon stressed that there was a proposal from the CEB, stating that the present solar power rates are high and when going for tendering, solar power can be purchased at around Rs.

He noted that several measures have been put forth to tackle the situation at hand, especially when it comes to distance education. “Several programmes such as ‘Gurugedara’, ‘E-Thaksalawa’, and ‘Sathi Pasala’ have been introduced at the national and provincial levels to facilitate online education for students, and students can access these free of charge,” he noted. “One of the main national programmes conducted by the Ministry is E-Thaksalawa, which has nearly 65,000 lessons, from grades one through 13. Furthermore, he added that the Ministry of Education has identified 2,096 centres where students do not have the right infrastructure to access the internet. According to him, nearly 30% of the teachers and staff across the island have been vaccinated, thus far.

July 18, 2021 by Revatha No CommentsLeading apparel manufacturer Brandix has committed its support for the Sri Lanka Olympic team for Tokyo 2020. Rajiv Malalasekera, Chief Executive Officer, Brandix Apparel Solutions Ltd., symbolically presented their sponsorship to Suresh Subramaniam, President, National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, at a recent event held in Colombo. As part of the support extended to the Sri Lanka team, Brandix created specialised t-shirts as an inspired solution in gearing them for the international sporting arena.

According to our chronicles, king Pandukabaya built the first lake ‘Abayawewa’ and ‘Basawakkulama’ in fourth century B.C in the Malwathu Oya river basin. In this background, the continuously prolonged Lower Malwathu Oya reservoir construction since 1950 decade is now being realised. The lower Malwathu Oya reservoir is constructed by constructing a 3.6 km dam across Malwathu Oya at Bogoda Village situated within the close proximity of historic Thantirimale sacred zone. Malwathu Oya river basin is the country’s second largest river basin next to Mahaweli holding a capacity of 3246 square feet. It is learnt that Nachchaduwa, Nuwarawewa, Tisawewa, Mahakanadarawa and Pavakkulam major tanks are situated within the Malwathu Oya basin.

By Yumiko PereraSri Lanka is scheduled to receive several consignments of Covid-19 vaccines over the course of the upcoming weeks, The Sunday Morning learnt. In addition to that, he also noted that Sri Lanka is expected to receive 1.47 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan. As per the State Minister, the flight is yet to be confirmed. However, it is expected to arrive within the next two weeks, The Sunday Morning learnt. He further noted that the country has received emergency approval for the use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine as well.

By Yoshitha PereraDenying claims made by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Wildlife and Forest Conservation Minister C.B. Ratnayake said there is no proposal to conduct any construction activity over 12,000 acres at the Yala National Park. He said: “So far, I have not been sent any project proposal or document requesting to conduct construction activities. “However, we have received reports of several wildlife officers assisting other illegal activities in the forest. Meanwhile, a letter issued by the DWC to the Archaeology Department approving certain renovation activities in the area was also circulated in the media last week.

BY YOSHITHA PERERAHealth authorities are conducting tests to obtain information as to whether the B.1.617.2 Delta variant of Covid-19 has spread across the country which would mean that it is spreading within the community, The Sunday Morning learnt. However, according to the health records released during the course of last week, it was revealed that a total number of 43 patients have been infected with the Delta variant. “What is required now is to prevent the spread of the virus within the community.”He said that since the Delta variant was first detected, the Sri Jayewardenepura University had commenced the process of detecting the variant in the country. On Thursday (15), the Unit confirmed that 19 patients were infected with the new Delta variant. She added: “There are two methods called variant PCR testing and gene sequencing and the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) health authorities revealed the spread of the new Delta variant earlier by conducting variant PCR tests.

BY MAHEESHA MUDUGAMUWAInvestigations are underway to ascertain whether the controversial urea shipment weighing 9,795 MT, which arrived at the Colombo Port last week, long after the Government banned agrochemical imports, had been loaded prior to the imposition of the ban on importing chemical fertiliser, The Sunday Morning learnt. Speaking to us, Sri Lanka Customs Spokesman Deputy Director (Legal) Sudattha Silva said that during the initial inquiries, it was revealed that the shipment had been loaded on 6 March 2021 from Malaysia. “We are investigating as to whether those documents are true and whether the shipment had been loaded on the said date,” he said. “We have referred the relevant documents to the Fertiliser Secretariat to ascertain whether they have actually issued the letters in March. Even if the shipment is cleared, it would only be released with written approval from the NFS, he added.

Moments later, Leon Balogun opened the scoring for Steven Gerrard's side before new signing Nuno Tavares levelled the scores. The Gunners talisman failed to find the net having been provided three chances in the first halfThen, just before half time, Aubameyang completed his hat trick of misses with the worst of the lot. Emile Smith-Rowe cut Rangers' defence open and forced a save from McGregor, with the ball falling into the path of the striker. And Arsenal fans have expressed concern that the miss could be indicative of a continuation of Aubameyang's poor form from last season. Arsenal fans have expressed concern for their striker's uncharacteristic performances'Auba carrying on from last season’s form.

Police in Germany and Belgium have told 'disaster tourists' coming to take pictures of devastating floods that has killed more than 160 people to stay away because they are hampering rescue efforts. Days of heavy rain turned normally minor rivers and streets into raging torrents this week and caused the disastrous flooding that swept away cars, engulfed homes and trapped residents. In Erftstadt, a town southwest of Cologne, a harrowing rescue effort unfolded on Friday when the ground in a neighborhood gave way. Parts of the southern Netherlands also experienced heavy flooding, though thousands of residents were allowed to return home Saturday morning after being evacuated on Thursday and Friday. His government has declared the flooding a state of emergency, opening up national funds for those affected.

July 17, 2021 09:03 pmThe Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry reports that another 467 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, moving the daily total of new cases to 1,447. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 283,507. As many as 255,833 recoveries and 3,733 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic. The Epidemiology Unit’s data showed that 23,972 active cases are currently under medical care.

By Laurence Dollimore For MailonlinePublished: 09:38 EDT, 17 July 2021 | Updated: 09:59 EDT, 17 July 2021A London Tube line has been suspended and two others partially closed due to a staff shortage triggered by workers being told to self-isolate by the NHS Covid-19 app. The Metropolitan Line was not running on Saturday after control room staff received an alert from the app in the morning telling them to stay at home. Services on the Piccadilly and District line were also affected, with partial closures to last until at least 9pm. 'This will also impact the Piccadilly line with no service between South Harrow and Uxbridge and no service on the District line between High Street Kensington and Edgware. The station is also serviced by the Jubilee line which was still running, while Wembley Stadium and Wembley Central stations are also near the ground.

July 17, 2021 07:24 pmSri Lanka has registered 31 more COVID-19 related fatalities confirmed by the Director General of Health Services on Saturday (July 17). The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in Sri Lanka to 3,733. According to the data released by the Department of Government Information, the latest victims confirmed today include 17 males and 14 females. Among the victims are 06 males and 02 females aged between 30-59 years and 11 males and 12 females aged 60 and above.

July 17, 2021 06:28 pmThe Ministry of Health says 980 more persons were tested positive for the novel coronavirus so far today (July 17). All new cases have been associated with the New Year COVID-19 cluster. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in the country thus far 283,040. According to official data, 23,505 virus-infected people are currently being treated at designated hospitals and treatment centres across the island. The recoveries count climbed to 255,833 today with 962 more patients who were under medical care for novel coronavirus returning to health.