May 31, 2021 by Mihi Perera No CommentsOpposition Leader Sajith Premadasa urged authorities to give priority to all religious leaders, including Buddhist monks, in the vaccination program. Issuing a statement, Premadasa also emphasises the need of government paying attention to the deaths of several leading monks in the country, and to make it a priority to vaccinate all religious leaders. He also alleged that the vaccination program in the country has gone wild due to the lack of a vaccination priority list and that the vaccine is being used as a political tool.

'My wine is older than your apartheid 'state'', she wrote alongside the images. Khalifa has voiced her support for Palestinians on social media since cross-border violence between Israel and Gaza broke out earlier this month. Some online noticed that one of the bottles with Khalifa was dated 1943 and contained champagne produced in Nazi-occupied France. 'Yes the modern state of Israel was founded in '48 — but that's 10 years Iraq's founding and five before Egypt's. Khalifa wrote on an Instagram Story: 'India has cut internet around New Delhi amidst a farmers protest, what the f*** is going on?'

Both artists and art lovers alike look forward to ‘Kala Pola’ as Sri Lanka’s renowned annual fair for visual art. ‘Kala Pola’ focuses on fostering a space for artists and sculptors to learn, network and market art given the limited opportunities that are available to promote their work outside gallery spaces. As a solution to gathering restrictions, the art fair was hosted as an online event for the first time in 2021. Over 240 pieces of art were sold online to buyers in and outside Sri Lanka with artists also receiving commissioned orders. Over 50 John Keells staff volunteers supported both initiatives.

The Civil Aviation Authority says that passengers with a travel history to Vietnam, including transit, in the past 14 days will not be permitted to disembark in Sri Lanka with immediate effect until further notice. The Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka says that all airlines have been informed of this decision.

The United National Party (UNP) stated today (31) that the Party has filed a Right to Information application pertaining to the construction contract of the overhead highway from Athurugiriya to Kelaniya. The Attorney-at-Law representing the Party has requested for the following information –1) Agreement between the Sri Lankan Government and the construction company. 2) Any document to show that if there was a calling for bids in respect of this award to the selected Construction Company. 3) If there was a calling for bids in respect of this award to the selected Construction Company, what were the selection criteria? 6) First 15 years: soon after the competition of the construction, would the Sri Lankan Government have any legal right to collect revenue from the said highway?

High Commissioner Sirisena also briefed Sir Lindsay on Sri Lanka’s high Human Development indices, due to its free health and free education systems modelled on those of the UK. Sir Lindsay noted the close cooperation between Sri Lanka and the UK on Oceans and plastics. Sir Lindsay also noted that democracy is the main factor that binds the two countries. Sir Lindsay welcomed the suggestion of High Commissioner Sirisena for the exchange of visits between the legislatures of the two countries. The High Commissioner was accompanied by Deputy High Commissioner Samantha Pathirana.

COLOMBO (News 1st); All passengers with a travel history to Vietnam, including transit, in the past 14 days will not be permitted to disembark in Sri Lanka with immediate effect until further notice. The announcement comes from the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Capt. Themiya Abeywickrama to all airlines. Vietnam detected a Covid variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly by air, officials said over the weekend. Vietnam’s Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long described the latest mutation on Saturday as “very dangerous”.

World Cup or IPL: What’s more important? # The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday (28) announced that they will move the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 from India to UAE during September-October# The 31 remaining IPL 2021 matches are to be completed in UAE before the start of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, scheduled in India during October-November# The current Covid-19 situation in India may prompt ICC and BCCI to move the World Cup too to UAE# Yet the BCCI has already requested ICC more time to make their final call on staging the World Cup# This is the second successive year that India was compelled to stage the IPL in the UAE# India is still continuing to be in the second wave of Covid-19 and the daily death rate is still above 3,000# Last year, Australia was scheduled to stage the ICC T20 World Cup from 18 Oct. to 15 Nov. 2020# On 2 Aug. last year, the IPL which was originally fixed for 29 March, was moved to UAE due to the pandemic, to be staged from 19 Sep. to 10 Nov. entirely overlapping the scheduled World Cup window# Then on 4 Aug., ICC postponed the T20 World Cup in Australia citing the Covid-19 pandemic# The 2020 T-20 World Cup in Australia was then moved to 2022 while the 2021 T20 World Cup, which India was initially set to stage, remained unchanged# Eventually last year, a national T20 franchise league got prominence over the T20 World Cup, organised by the sport’s world governing body# Why the T20 World Cup in Australia last year could have been moved to UAE by postponing the IPL, instead of postponing the World Cup? # Will a similar situation occur this year too as India moves IPL extremely closer to the T20 World Cup?

American marines coming ashore from landing craft at Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II in August 1942Do you think the United States made a mistake sending troops to fight in the following wars? The poll considered conflicts spread over more than 100 years including both World Wars, the Vietnam War and the more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. 77 percent said that sending troops had been the right choice, but just 63 percent of Democrats agreed. Just 28 percent of Americans believed that sending troops to Vietnam was the right decision, with 48 percent saying it was a mistake and 25 percent unsure. Some 36 percent of Americans said the Afghanistan war was a mistake, with 39 percent in favor and 25 percent unsure.

May 31, 2021 by Revatha No CommentsOld Anandian and a long-standing benefactor of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Commonwealth Games Association of Sri Lanka, J.J. “Java” Ambani passed away. He was former Chairman of Metropolitan Group of Companies. “Ambani personally assisted the NOC on many occasions and we feel it is a great loss to both the NOC and the entire country. Even though he has not held any official position of the NOC, he was truly a member of the NOC family,” said NOC sources in a statement yesterday (30). May his soul rest in peace!

May 31, 2021 by Revatha No CommentsKusal Janith Perera is to be given Sri Lanka’s T20I captaincy! The newly appointed SL ODI Captain Perera, who whacked a match-winning century in Bangladesh, though the Lankans lost the series 2-1, is to be appointed the national T20I Captain too, in place of Dasun Shanaka, The Morning Sports reliably learnt yesterday (30). The Lankan white-ball team are to next play three each of T20Is and ODIs in England from 23 June to 4 July.

The OnePlus Nord CE is launching on June 10 in Europe and India and folks over at Android Central have leaked some of its specs. According to the publication, the Nord CE will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset. Besides the mid-range 5G silicon, the report alleges that the OnePlus Nord CE would get a triple camera setup comprising a 64MP main camera. Elsewhere, the OnePlus Nord CE might get a 6.43-inch AMOLED display just like the original Nord. OnePlus Nord CE availabilityAccording to OnePlus dedicated website for the launch of the Nord CE, pre-orders for the phone will start on June 11.

The White House celebrated Vesak for the first time, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington DC said today (31)The ceremony was conducted with the participation of three Venerable theros representing the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions. The Most Venerable Katugasthota Uparathana Nayaka Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the Wheaton Buddhist Vihara represented the Theravada tradition. In addition, the ceremony was attended by the Second Gentlemen, Mr. Douglas Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. Earlier in an official statement to mark Vesak President Joe Biden observed “Jill and I extend our warmest wishes to Buddhists in the United States and around the world as they celebrate Vesak, a day honoring the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha. The Embassy staff and leaders of the Dayaka Sabba of the Greater Washington based Sri Lankan temples also attended these events.

By Ishani UpatharithaMinul S. DoluweeraThe World Chess Federation (FIDE) Masters Susal De Silva of Nalanda College, Colombo and Minul S. Doluweera of University of Colombo scored 4½ points each out of possible nine games at the end of the Asian Continental Hybrid Chess Championship 2021. Those were the highest-ever performance made by any Sri Lankan chess player in the championship. Susal De SilvaThe current national chess champion Ranindu Liyanage could be named the most unfortunate player of the tournament this year. Seven qualify for World Chess CupThe event was held from 21-29 May via Tornela Platform with one game each day, held from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also the top seven players of the event were qualified to play the FIDE World Chess Cup, to be held in Russia in July 2021.

SL won by four wickets1815 – The first first-class game is staged at the third and final home of Thomas Lord’s Cricket Ground. Steve Bucknor1946 – Birth of the most experienced Test umpire Steve Bucknor who broke Dickie Bird’s record in 2002. In Colombo, in 1997-98, he added 576 for the second wicket with Sanath Jayasuriya, the second-highest partnership in Test history. In last wicket’s partnership of 106, Michael Holding (on right) only made 121984 – The greatest innings in ODI history, at least according to everyone who witnessed it on that day! At one point, West Indies were 166/ 9 and they ended up making 272/9 to win the match by 104 runs.